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 Human Civilization 
 
""M!"'"* ^"^ ^''''''esses on secret societie 
 
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 http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924009378070 
 
SERMONS AND ADDRESSES 
 
 -ON- 
 
 SECRET SOCIETIES, 
 
 -BT- 
 
 Rev Lebbbus Armstrong, Ret. Daniel Dow, Rev. W. P 
 
 McNary, Rbv. R. T. Cross, Rev. James Williams, 
 
 Rev. J. Sarver, I*rest. J. Blanchabd, Prest. 
 
 H. H. George, Prof. J. 6. Caksok, 
 
 Rev. M. S. Drurt, Rev. Robert 
 
 Armstrong, and Rev. A. L. 
 
 Post. 
 
 Fourteen Pamphlets in one Volume. 
 
 \ 
 
 CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.'': ■ 
 
 EZRA A. COOK., PUBfilSHER.' 
 
 1S82. 
 
 
ADVERTISEMENT. 
 
 These fourteen pamphlets are here bound 
 together for the convenience of those who wish 
 them in permanent form for pubHc and private 
 Hbraries. 
 
 The attentive reader will not fail to find in 
 this volume arguments with which to meet the 
 most subtle attack of the powers of darkness. 
 
 Quite a number of the authors speak from 
 their own experience in these Secret Orders; and 
 others are reckoned among the clearest thinkers 
 and most logical reasoners in the nation. 
 
 All speak from a thorough knowledge of the 
 subject and no christian or patriot will think of 
 joining any secret order after a careful perusal 
 of this volume. 
 
 These pamphlets are still published separate- 
 ly in paper covers. 
 
 e;9,ra a., cook 
 
 Chicago, Illinois. 
 
MASONRY A 
 WORK OF DARKNESS 
 
 A SERMON BY 
 REV. LEBBEUS ARMSTRONG. 
 
 The copy from which this Discourse is printed, was found 
 in tne "United and Beformed Presbyterian Pulpit" for 
 December, 1869, and Jcmuwry, 1870, thenpvblished at Xenia, 
 Ohio. The following Note was subjoined by the Editors. 
 
 Note. — Upon the abduction of Wm. Morgan, Sept., 
 1827, the eyes of the entire country were opened to the 
 true character of the [Masonic] organization, and the 
 dangers to which our country was exposed from it, and 
 many good men, who had been entangled with it, publicly 
 acknowledged its character and withdrew from it. For 
 a time it seemed to have received its death-blow, and 
 thereafter for years received but little attention. But it 
 has been secretly growing and working its way to place 
 and power, until recently its impudence and assumptions 
 have again aroused the fears of Christians and patriots ; 
 and the notes of alarm are being sounded not only from 
 Oberlin, but over the length and breadth of the land. 
 The following discourse, though delivered several years 
 ago, yet presents the nature of the institution so clearly 
 and succinctly, and there seems to be so much need of 
 something of the kind, that we cheerfully give it a place 
 in the PniiFiT. Should it be said that Masonry has 
 
4 
 
 ohanged Bince this sermon was delivered, let him wh» 
 afiQrniB it make good the proof of the same. — ^Eds. 
 TEXT. 
 
 Have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of dark- 
 ness, hut rather reprove them ; for it is a shame even to 
 speak of those things which are done of them in secret. 
 Efhbbians, v. 11, 12. 
 
 The Works of Darkness comprise all that belongs to 
 the system of moral evil. Opposition to God and holiness, 
 characterizes their nature ; the love and practice of them 
 constitute the guilt, and lead to the destruction of man- 
 kind. Satan, the first great enemy of God, introduced 
 them into this world, and it is by his special instigation 
 and agency that they still prevail. 
 
 Every period of the world has been marked with some 
 peculiar enormity, designed to dishonor God, and to ruin 
 the souls of men. Before the flood, the wickedness of 
 man was great in the earth. Subsequently, idolatry led 
 mankind almost universally, to the violation of the first 
 commandment of that great law of inspiration, " Thou 
 shalt have no other Gods before me." Hence, the ancients 
 worshiped their Apis and Crocodile, Baal and Moloch, 
 Jupiter and Venus, and a host of inferior deities. 
 
 At the commencement of the Christian Era, the world 
 was overspread with Paganism, and the various modes of 
 heathen worship constituted the principal religion of 
 mankind. Greece had long been the seat of philosophical 
 literature, and the Eleusinian festivals were the most 
 splendid and popular of all the heathen ceremonies. 
 These were periodically celebrated by the Athenians, in 
 honor of Ceres, the goddess of agriculture, and her 
 daughter Proserpine, who, according to the fabulous 
 legends of heathen mythology, was stolen by Pluto, from 
 the plains of Sicily, and was transported into the infernal 
 regions, where she became queen of the world of dark'- 
 
ness. To prepare for the Grand Festivals was the prin- 
 cipal object of the schools of philosophy, and the public 
 celebrations were scenes of the most abominable wicked- 
 ness. We are informed in the history of the ancients, 
 that there were secrets belonging to this heathen festival 
 which were " so superstitiously observed, that if any one 
 ever revealed them, it was supposed he called divine 
 vengeance on his head, and the wretch was put to an ig- 
 nominious death." 
 
 Such abominations were practiced in the apostolic 
 , age, and to them the holy apostle, doubtless, had allusion, 
 when he exhorted the Ephesian Christians to " Have no 
 fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but 
 rather reprove them;" and to enforce his admonition, 
 added, '' For it is a shame even to speak of those things 
 which are done of them in secret." 
 
 This apostolic admonition is of universal application, 
 and mankind at this period, as well as in ages past, 
 and especially all professing Christians, are bound to re- 
 nounce the works of darkness which prevail in the 
 world, of whatsoever kind they may be. 
 
 Among the various stratagems of Satan in opposition 
 to Qod and holiness, and for the purpose of destroying 
 the souls of men, the institution of Speculative Free- 
 masonry holds a pre-eminent rank. Whatever may have 
 been the circumstances of its origin, and the modes of its 
 primary existence, the following are undeniable facts: 
 That the claims of £*reemasonry are very extensive ; that 
 the long-boasted secrets of its nature are divulged to the 
 world ; and that the exposure has proved it to be a work 
 of darkness. As long as Masonry could be kept con- 
 cealed, the world was unable, successfully, either to dis- 
 pute its claims, or to oppose its interests. So deep laid, and 
 strongly fortified by its own internal powers of conceal- 
 ment, was the institution of Freemasonry, that no earthly 
 opponent could enervate its influence, derogate from its 
 
professed importance, or impede the progress °* * , 
 usurpation. During tlie years of its prosperity, it passe 
 in the world as a boasted Mystery of Wonders, unsus- 
 pected of possessing means to control the energies of 
 civil, military and ecclesiastical governments; unsus- 
 pected of possessing po-wer to take the lives of its mem- 
 hers privately for the slightest offense ; and unsuspected 
 of being adequate to the wcTrk of forging chains to bind 
 a nation in the tyranny of Masonic Despotism. 
 
 But the light of Truth has been permitted to shine In 
 the dark recess, and discover to the world the enor- 
 mity of the Masonic institution. The diabolical enchant- 
 ment is broken. The mask of disguise which concealed 
 the turpitude of its nature, has been rent asunder; and 
 the fact is notorious that Freemasonry has fallen before 
 the truth, like the Philistine's Dagon before the Ark of 
 the God of Israel. Like the fallen idol, its head and 
 bands are broken off and dashed to atoms. Like those of 
 Judas, its bowels are gushed out ; and instead of being 
 the mystical wonder of the world, it has become the con- 
 tempt of an enlightened public: an object of special ab- 
 horrence of many of its once deluded votaries who have 
 renounced it;and every class of community may possess 
 the means of information, become acquainted with Its 
 nature and tendency, and judge for themselves whether 
 it be good or bad. 
 
 From the revelation which is made of its principles, it 
 is now proposed to prove that the institution of Free- 
 masonry is a Work of Darkness, and that its adherents 
 are bound by the authority of Heaven to renounce it. 
 
 I, Because it grossly perverts the Holt Scrip- 
 tubes. 
 
 Many of the names of Masonic signs, and pass-words, 
 and tokens, and professed history of degrees, are taken 
 from the Sacred Writings, and hence the doctrine is 
 palmed upon the world^ that Masonry is founded on the 
 
Word of God. "Boaz" and "Jachin," "Shibboleth" 
 
 and " Tubal-Cain," " Joppa," " Markwell," " Jah," " Je- 
 hovah," and many other Masonic terms are talien from 
 the Bible, and candidates for Masonic degrees axe in- 
 structed to believe that Masonry is hence of divine origin, 
 and that its professed sublime principles are in accord- 
 ance with Divine Inspiration. 
 
 That such premises and conclusions constitute a gross 
 perversion of Scripture, must be obvious to every person 
 of serious reflection. By this rule Scripture terms and 
 phrases might be selected, and so mangled as to support 
 the doctrine of systematic infidelity, with all its compli- 
 cated auxiliaries of falsehood, deception, libertinism and 
 epicurean revelry, in connection with the unrestrained 
 gratification of every vile propensity of fallen nature. 
 To this use of Scripture, Satan resorted when he tempted 
 our Savior in the wilderness. And it would be no less 
 preposterous to conclude, that Satan's principles, and 
 doctrine, and motives were pure, and founded on the 
 Word of God, because he quoted a mutilated passage of 
 Scripture to prove that there would be no danger of fall- 
 ing to the rocks below, if Jesus should cast himself head- 
 long from the pinnacle of the temple in Jerusalem, than 
 to conclude, that because Masonic terms are taken from 
 the Bible, therefore, Masonry is of divine origin. 
 
 Freemasonry perverts the Holy Scriptures by introdu- 
 cing Masonic traditions and interpolations, to supply 
 pretended deficiencies of the Bible. Of this description 
 is the lamentable Masonic tragedy of the assassination of 
 Hiram the Widow's son. It is well known to the public, 
 that every candidate for the Master Mason's Degree, is 
 made to personify Hiram, the ingenious artificer, who 
 assisted in building King Solomon's Temple. And be- 
 cause the Scriptures are silent respecting the circum- 
 stances of his death, Masonic tradition undertakes to 
 supply this pretended deficiency of the Bible, with a 
 
8 
 
 description ot the dolefhl tragedy which constitutes » 
 portion of Ce sworn secrets of the Masonic institution; 
 The amount of the story is, that Hiram was assaulted by 
 three Fellow-Craft Masons, who demanded of him the 
 Master's Word, on pretense of a journey to some foreign 
 land in quest of Masonic employment. But being re- 
 fused the word which they demanded, each gave Hiram 
 a blow, the last of which deprived him of life, and the 
 body was concealed in an obscure place under ground 
 To detect the perpetrators, King Solomon, it is said, laid 
 an embargo on all ships sailing from the various ports of 
 his kingdom, to prevent their escape, and by vigilant 
 search the assassins were detected, and brought to justice 
 by suffering the penally of their Masonic obligation, as 
 an example to deter others from a violation of Masonic 
 rules ; and the body of Hiram, when found, was taken 
 from the place of its concealment and Masonically in- 
 terred under the Sanctum SANCToitnM of the Temple. 
 
 Every candidate for the Master Mason's Degree is 
 taught this lesson of Masonic tradition in a manner, the 
 recollection of which is truly sickening, and must for- 
 ever be disgusting to every pious mind. After the obliga- 
 tion is taken, by which the candidate is Masonically 
 sworn to keep secret forever, every point of the degree, a 
 farce is introduced, in which the candidate is made to 
 represent and personify Hiram in the various scenes of 
 his pretended assassination, concealment, and subsequent 
 Masonic interment. Thus, he is hoodwinked and led 
 around the professed " Sanctum Sanctorum," (the name of 
 every Lodge-Room,) for the proof of his fidelity. A 
 Masonic prayer is made for his success, and a portion of 
 the Scriptures read, to prepare his mind for the awful 
 scene of falling a victim to the vengeance of aspiring dis- 
 appointed villains. Unsuspecting any danger, the candi- 
 date is violently seized, and demanded to give the 
 Master's Word on peril of death in case of refusal. 01 
 
this " word " the candidate is himself yet ignorant. HU 
 'conductor pleads in vain for a postponement, until the 
 word can be Masonically obtained. The pretended as- 
 sailant, (who is an officer of the Lodge,) affects to be in 
 a rage, and gives the candidate a blow with a Masonic 
 implement. Passing onward a little farther, the candi- 
 date is again assaulted by another wretch, who makes 
 the same demand, and on refusal, gives him another blow. 
 But the mortal wound is reserved for the assassin called 
 Jubelum, who, in a rage, for the same cause as above, 
 gives the blind candidate a blow on the head with a 
 small leather mallet stuffed with wool, at which instant 
 he it twitched backward into a sheet, wrapped up, and 
 dragged into a corner of the room, thus personifying the 
 death and burial of Hiram ! 
 
 After this, the candidate is made to represent Hiram, 
 in the removal of his dead body from the place of con- 
 cealment by the assassins, to the place of deposit under 
 the Sanctum Sanctorum of the Temple. The place of its 
 concealment is said to have been discovered by a sprig 
 of cassia on a new-made grave, to represent which, each 
 Mason casts a sprig of evergreen into the grave of a 
 brother, in the ceremony of Masonic funerals. A num- 
 ber of Entered Apprentice Masons are commissioned to 
 remove the dead body. They repair to the place ; that is, 
 go to the candidate wrapped in the sheet personifying 
 the dead. One of them takes hold of his hand, pulls a 
 little, and lets the hand slip off. Returning to the east 
 end of the room, they report to the Master of the Lodge, 
 that such is the putrid state of the body, the Entered 
 Apprentice grip, (Boaz,) will not raise him. A select 
 number of Fellow Craft Masons are next sent, and after 
 the same unsuccessful manner, they return and report, 
 that in consequence of the putrid state of the body, the 
 Fellow-Craft grip, (Jachin,) will not raise him. The 
 Master of the Lodge, representing King Solomon, then 
 
10 
 
 goes himself with a number of Master Masons, and by 
 the grip of the "lion's paw," [a grasp round the wrist,] 
 the candidate is raised upon his feet, and instructed to 
 understand that when Hiram was raised from the grave, 
 the first word spoken by the Master was, •' There is mar- 
 row in the Bone." From this is derived the Master's 
 Word, " Mah-Hah-Bonb," as a substitute for the word 
 which was professedly lost at the death of Hiram. This 
 word is never to be given but oh the Five Points of 
 Masonic Fellowship : that is, foot to foot, knee to knee, 
 breast to breast, hand to back, and mouth to ear, in 
 which position the putrid Hiram of a candidate receives 
 the Master's Word in a whisper from the Worshipful 
 Master ; all which ceremonies are illustrated in the fol- 
 lowing points of the Oath of the Master's Degree. 
 
 "I promise and swear that I will never give the 
 Master Mason's Word, but on the Five Points of Fellow- 
 ship, and then not above my breath." 
 
 Foot to Foot.-^' I swear that I will go on a Master 
 Mason's errand the length of my cable-tow, when requir- 
 ed, though barefoot." 
 
 Knee to Knee. — " I promise and swear that I will 
 never forget to pray for a Master Mason, when on my 
 knees." 
 
 Bkeast to Bbeast. — "I promise and swear that a 
 Master Mason's secrets shall remain as secure in my 
 breast as in his own." 
 
 Hand to Back.—t" I promise and swear that I will sup- 
 port and promote a Master Mason's interest if in my 
 power." And 
 
 Mouth to Eab. — " I swear that I will always apprise 
 him of any danger to which I know him to be exposed." 
 
 Such are the Five Points of Masonic Fellowship, with 
 their illustration ; and whatever a Mason communicates 
 to his brother Mason on the " Five Points," is consider- 
 ed a Masonic secret, the preservation of which is inviol 
 
11 
 
 rhly secured by the oath and' penalty of the degree. 
 Such Masonic tradition in relation to the death of Hiram, 
 designed to supply the deficiency of Holy Writ, must be 
 considered an unwarrantable assumption ; a gross per- 
 version of the Word of God ; and consequently a Work 
 of Darkness. 
 
 Another specimen of the perversion of the Bible, is the 
 farce in the Eoyal Arch Degree, of the taking of Jeru- 
 salem by the Chaldeans', the carrying away of the Jews 
 into the captivity of Babylon, and their return to Jeru- 
 salem. 
 
 In receiving the Royal Arch Degree, three candidates 
 are hood- winked, and bound together with a strong rope 
 round the body, at the distance of about four feet apart. 
 Thus prepared, a most tremendous " tiue and cry " is 
 raised by the fraternity, " The Chaldeans are upon us." 
 Cannon balls, or other round substances, are rolled over 
 the floor of the Chapter-room, to represent the rumbling 
 sound of the pretended chariot wheels of the enemy. 
 Horror fills the room. The sounding of horns, the 
 rattling of bells, imitations of martial music, the clashing 
 of arms, the discharge of pistols, accompanied by the 
 most hideous cries, " The Chaldeans are upon us," are 
 designed to fill the candidates with terror, while they are 
 dragged head-long to Babylon: that is, huddled into a 
 small adjoining room. Here they continue in a state of 
 captivity seventy teaes: that is, perhaps five or ten 
 minutes at the expiration of which, their liberty is pro- 
 claimed by the edict of Cyrus the Persian, and a proposal 
 is made for volunteers to return and build up the waste 
 places of Jerusalem. The candidates volunteer under 
 the direction of a Masonic oflScer, styled " Principal So- 
 journer," representing an old experienced Jew, and thus, 
 in the farce, a march is set out from Babylon to Jeru- 
 salem. A rugged road is now to be traveled — tropes are 
 stretched across their path, and stumbling-blocks, 
 
12 
 
 benches, billets of wood, and a variety of obstructions 
 are put in the way of the blind candidates bound 
 together. A row of Masons are stationed on each side of 
 their path, with hands joined to form the arch under 
 which they are to pass, and a team of Masons areiforward 
 tugging at the rope, sufficiently strong to drag them 
 headlong, which is often done, when all the candidates 
 have stumbled, and are prostrate on the floor. 
 
 Arriving at Jerusalem, the several vails of the temple 
 are to be passed, at each of which they meet with oppo- 
 sition, and are pretendedly suspected of being spies and 
 enemies, until the Principal Sojourner evinces the con- 
 trary, by an imitation of the signs and tokens which 
 Moses wrought before Pharaoh, to prove his Divine mis- 
 sion. In this part of the farce, a crooked staff with the 
 head in the form of a serpent, is thrown upon the floor, 
 and appears like a serpent ; is taken again in the hand 
 and proves only to be a crooked staff. The hand thrust 
 into the bosom, and taken out pretendedly leprous, and 
 thrust into the bosom again, and taken out fair; an imi- 
 tation of water thrown upon the land, and becoming 
 blood ; and other like imitations of the signs and tokens 
 of the ancient Prophet of God, prove at length, satisfac- 
 torily to the Masters of the respective vails, and officers 
 of the Masonic temple, that the candidates are true men ; 
 and they are admitted as Masonic laborers in repairing 
 the desolations of Jerusalem and the Temple. 
 
 All these imitations of Scripture facts, exhibited in a 
 Masonic farce, together with the imitation of the vision 
 of the burning bush, in which Jehovah is personifled by 
 a Masonic officer in the Chapter-room; the professed dis- 
 covery of the ark of the covenant among the rubbish, 
 containing a key of an alphabet to understand a mystical 
 language, by which the long-lost Master's Word is found 
 to be God, professedly expressed in three different lan- 
 guages, forming the Royal Arch Word is JAH- 
 
IS 
 
 BXJH-LUN; together with the fooleries of raising a 
 livinf arch by three times three, in the name of God, 
 and in a manner highly profane and impious, all which 
 are palmed on Masonic candidates as traditions of the 
 Order, founded on the authority of Divine revelation, can 
 be viewed in no other light, if truth is our guide, than a 
 shameless and wicked perversion of the Holy Scriptures, 
 and adds to the list of testimony to prove that Freema- 
 sonry is a Work of Darkness. 
 
 In the Mark Master's Degree, the representation of a 
 stone in the form of a key-stone of an arch, adorned with 
 a mystic circular inscription of the initials, " H. T. W. S. 
 8. T. K. 8.," is presented by the candidate to Masonic in- 
 spectors, as a specimen of workmanship, and on account 
 of its irregular form, is condemned as useless, and cast 
 among the rubbish. Masonic tradition states, that such 
 was the fact in condemning and casting away a refuse 
 stone, at the building of King Solomon's temple. In the 
 Royal Arch degree, the candidates are represented as 
 finding this long condemned stone among the rubbish, 
 and are Masonically instructed to understand that it was 
 to this very stone the Psalmist and Apostle had reference, 
 when the former evidently predicted the humiliation and 
 exaltation of the Messiah to come ; and the latter applied 
 that prediction as having been fulfilled in the suffering, 
 death, and triumphant resurrection of the Lord Jesus. 
 Here is a bold specimen of the manner in which the name 
 of Jesus is explained away by Masonic theorists. Jesus, 
 the Xamb of Ood, once despised, rejected and slain by 
 the pretended Jewish builders of the Church of God — 
 Jesus, who humbled himself unto death, and was exalted 
 to be a Prince and a Saviour, the head of the corner, the 
 Foundation of the Church of God, the name which 
 angels adore, and which is precious to all the saints on 
 earth and in heaven, finds no place in the Masonic tern- 
 pie. The institution of Freemasonry acknowledges no 
 
14 
 
 human .depravily-whieli seeds a Saviour's atonement, and " 
 records neitlier thei sufferings nor the triumphaift glories 
 of, the Saviour ot men. Like the inn of Bethlehem, 
 which afforded no room nor accommodation for his 
 hirth, Masonry prefers the key-stone of an arch, profess- 
 edly wrought in the forest of Lebanon, and inscribed 
 with Masonic initials, signifying, "Hiram, Tyrian, 
 Widow's Bon, Sent T-> King Solomon." Yes, readers, 
 such a Masonic key-stone is the Masonic amount of the 
 import of those impressive passages of Holy Writ, which 
 declare that Jesus Christ, the Great Redeemer, is the 
 stone which the Jewish builders rejected, and that Jesus 
 Christ is ,the foundation and chief corner stone of the 
 Church of God. " The stone," said the pious Psalmist, 
 in a prophetic strain, " which the builders refused, is, be- 
 come the head-stone of the corner." And, " This is the 
 stone," said the holy Apostle, addressing the unbelieving 
 Jews, and applying the foregoing prediction to the cru- 
 cified and risen Savior, " This is the stone which was 
 set at nought of you builders, which is become the head 
 of the corner. Neither is there salvation in any other; 
 for there is none other name under heaven, given among 
 men, whereby we must be saved." To apply such pas- 
 sages to the keystone of a Masonic temple, is a perversion 
 of Scripture, which affords great weight of evidence that 
 the institution of Freemasonry belongs to the Works of 
 Darkness, 
 n. Because it makes provision fob the commission 
 
 AND CONCBALMBNT OF CAPITAL AND OTSEB CRIMES. 
 
 The provision alluded to, is comprised in Masonic 
 obligations. By the obligations of Masonry, we are to 
 understand the oaths and penalties which candidates for 
 Masonic degrees are required to take upon themselves, 
 on receiving each and every Degree of Masonry, by re- 
 peating the words after the Master, always concluding 
 with " So help me God, make me steadfast and faithful 
 
16 
 
 to perform the same. ▲ violatiou of the least point of 
 Masonic obligation, subjects the perpetrator to the pen- 
 alty of a barbarous death. This is evident from the ex- 
 press words of Masonic obligations, each of which closes 
 with a penalty, of which the following is a specimen: 
 
 " Binding myself under no less penalty, than to have my 
 throat cut, my tongue torn out by the roots: my left 
 breast torn open, and my heart and vitals taken from 
 thence: my body severed in the midst, divided to the 
 north and south, and my bowels burnt to ashes in the 
 center : my skull smote off." 
 
 Such are some of the penalties of Masonic obligations, 
 under which every Mason swears that he will never re- 
 veal any part or parts, point, or points, of the secrets of 
 Freemasonry. The following words are found in Ma- 
 sonic obligations generally: 
 
 " Binding myself under no less penalty, etc., if I should 
 ever be guilty of so great a crime as to violate ant pabt 
 of this my solemn oath and obligation." 
 
 This proves that a Mason forfeits his life by .the least 
 deviation from the Masonic oath. A disclosure of the 
 Masonic secret that the name of the grip of the Entered 
 Apprentice Degree, is "boaz;" or a disclosure of the sec- 
 ret that the pass-word of the next Degree is " shibbo- 
 leth," or the name of the grip "jaohiit;" or that the 
 pass-word from thence to the Master's Degree is " tubal- 
 CAiN," and the Master's word is "mah-hah-bone;" yes, 
 readers the disclosure of a single point of the foregoing 
 nonsensical secrets, would be a crime, in Masonic estima^ 
 tion, worthy of death. If a Mason wrong a brother Ma- 
 son out of two-pence, or forget to pray for every other 
 brother Mason when on his knees, or fail to attend a 
 summoned meeting of the Lodge, when it is in his power 
 to attend, he violates his Masonic obligation, and commits 
 a crime worthy of death by Masonic law. That such is the 
 
16 
 
 nature of Masonic obligations is evident from the united 
 teBtimdny of Seceding Masons. 
 
 Two points are now carefully to be examined. First, 
 to consider whether there is any proof before the public 
 that the penalty of death has ever, in any case, been in- 
 flicted by Masons, on violators of Masonic obligations. 
 And secondly, to consider whether such execution of 
 Masonic penalties is justifiable by the laws of civiliza- 
 tion, or whether it is to be considered a crime of murder. 
 
 The first of these -points we affirm, and declare that 
 there is proof before the public, that the penalty of auath 
 has been inflicted by Masons on violators of Masonic 
 obligations. William Morgan, a Mason, wrote a book 
 entitled "Illttbtiiations op MASOiniT, which is proved to 
 be a true and faithful revelation of the secrets of that in- 
 stitution, in its first three Degrees. For this Masonic of- 
 fence, he was taken by Masons, and forcibly transported 
 from Batavia to Canandaigua, and from thence to Fort 
 Niagara, in the State of New York. That he is dead, is 
 •evident from two existing facts. One is, that it is years 
 since his abduction by Masons, and to this day, no one 
 of the fraternity is found to give any account where he is, 
 which they most assuredly would do if he were alive, to 
 save their institution from public Impeachment. 
 
 Another circumstance that evinces the death of William 
 Morgan is, that the body of a dead man was found on 
 the beach of Lake Ontario, at Oak Orchard Creek, nearly 
 a year after Morgan's abduction ; and on the examination 
 of a coroner's inquest, in presence of hundreds of specta- 
 tors, it was found to possess particular marks, which 
 were previously sworn, by the widow and other credita- 
 ble witnesses, to have been on the body of William Mor- 
 gan in his life time. Much excitement existing at the 
 time, to prevent all suspicions of imposture, a number of 
 depositions were taken in writing, subscribed and sworn 
 to before the dead body had been seen by the deponents. 
 
l4 
 
 In these depositions the following marks were identified 
 for substance thus : that on the great toe of the left foot 
 of William Morgan, was a lump of considerable size and 
 hard substance, occasioned by a sore some years previous. 
 Another mark particularized in the deposition was, that 
 the teeth of William Morgan were all double, that two ol 
 his teeth were missing, designating the jaws from which 
 they had been extracted: and that the tooth adjoining 
 tho vacuity, on one side, was in part split off. On ex- 
 amination these very marks were found on that dead 
 body, answering in all respects, the description previ- 
 ously given of them by the witnesses. Mrs. Morgan, the 
 afflicted widow, in presence of a numerous assembly, 
 presented the identical teeth of her husband, which had 
 been extracted from his jaws years before and which she 
 had carefully preserved. The same physician who had 
 extracted them from the jaws of William Morgan in his 
 life time, took the teeth from the hand of 2ffirs. Morgan, 
 and applying them to the jaw of the dead body, found 
 them to fit, and to fill the vacuity exactly, forming a com- 
 plete set of double teeth round, except the one split off. 
 Other marks specified in the depositions were also satis- 
 factorily found to exist on the dead body ; such as long 
 white hairs in the ears, extreme hairiness of the body- 
 with the height and apparent age. 
 
 Objections arising from the improbability that a body 
 would continue in such a state of perfect preservation so 
 long time in water, were answered by the physicians then 
 present, who united in testimony that human bodies under 
 water, and not exposed to air, might be preserved during 
 such period in as good, if not better, state than the corpse 
 before them. And although Mrs. Morgan acknowledged 
 that the clothing on the dead body was not such as her 
 husband had on when he went from home, yet she hesi- 
 tated not to declare under oath, that she verily believed 
 that corpse to be the dead body of William Morgan, her 
 
18 
 
 husband; and so said all, or nearly all the witnesses 
 then present. The whole at-sembly examined for them- 
 selyes, the result of which was a general conviction that 
 the object of examination was the dead body of William 
 Morgan. Such, also, was the verdict of the jury of in- 
 quest, which was recorded and published under the sig- 
 nature of the coroner, and with all the names of the jurors 
 inserted. 
 
 From such testimony we hesitate not to affirm, that 
 William Morgan's dead body was providentially die- 
 covered on the shore of Lake Ontario, and was laid to 
 rest in the grave.' But who put him to death? is the 
 question. It is acknowledged that j)ositive testimony 
 • has not been legally adduced sufficient to convict any 
 person or persons of taking his life, in a manner which 
 would justify the execution of the penalty of the civil law 
 against them. Years have passed by; vigilant efforts 
 have been made : much money has been expended ; but 
 this point has not been gained. The testimony to prove, 
 identically, the circumstances of his last struggles, such 
 as the time when, the place where, the manner how, and 
 the person or persons by whom William Morgan was 
 put to death, together with all who were accessory to 
 his death, depends entirely on Masons. They are bound 
 by oath paramount, in their estimation, to that of the 
 civil law, to keep the whole matter a secret forever. 
 Hence, when called upon to testify on the case, they 
 have declared that they knew nothing about it, or they 
 have obstinately refused to give testimony, and suffered 
 the penalty of two hundred and fifty dollars fine, and 
 from one to three months imprisonment, rather than tes- 
 tify to the truth and expose the enormity of Masonry, as 
 was the well known case of Orasmus Turner, Eli .^uce 
 and John Whitney, in the late trials at the West, ,3ut 
 why would not these men testify on a case, the circum- 
 stances ot which they well knew ? Let Orasmus Turner 
 answer for them all. 
 
19 
 
 " It will have a tendency to render me infamous or dis- 
 graced. It will furnish evidence against me in an indict- 
 ment for murder." 
 
 Prom their own admission, then,the proof is incontest- 
 ible, that Masons did put William Morgan to death. By- 
 considering the Masonic obligations paramount to the 
 civil oath, and by suffering the penalty of the latter for 
 contumacy of its authority ; rather than incur the penal- 
 ty of the Masonic law, which would cut their throat and 
 smite off their skull, they have proved the very facts 
 which we now positively and fearlessly affirm, that Ma- 
 sons did put William Morgan to death, in the execution 
 of the penalty of Masonic obligation, for requirements of 
 Freemasonry. They are positive witnesses against them- 
 selves, both by their admissions, and obstinate refusal to 
 testify on the case, that they, and all others who have 
 equivocated or refused to testify, (and the Lord knows 
 how many more), were either perpetrators of the horrid 
 deed of taking the life of William Morgan, or were ac- 
 cessories to the crime. 
 
 Another instance of the execution of Masonic penalty, 
 is the death of William Miller, of Belfast, in Ireland. 
 Samuel G. Anderton, a well known, and respectable in- 
 habitant of Boston, whose occupation for many years 
 has been that of a seafaring man, and whose reputation 
 has been publicly certified to be above the impeachment 
 of slander, has declared upon his oath before John W. 
 Quincy, a justice of the peace in the city of Boston, 
 which deposition was made in the month of March, 1830, 
 and for substance is as follows : 
 
 " That in the year 1809, he was made a Mason in a 
 Lodge-room near Lymekiln dock, in the city of Belfast, 
 in Ireland, and became acquainted with a Mason by the 
 name of William Miller, a miller by occupation, and 
 resident of the place. That in the year 1813, he was 
 taken prisoner of war on the high seas, and was trans- 
 
p<Hrted to England, from whence, through Masonie in- 
 fluence, he was liberated, found means of conveyance to 
 Ireland, and on the morning of the 4th of June, which 
 was the King's birthday, he was in Belfast, saw, and had 
 conversation with his friend William Miller. That Mil- 
 ler then told him that ' the Masons had offered to make 
 him a Knight Templar free of charge, and that he had 
 been strongly urged to attend that evening, which he 
 had agreed to do.' " Mr. Anderton had agreed also, to 
 attend the same meeting. In the evening, Mr. Anderton 
 received several degrees of Masonry, among which was 
 the Knight Templar. Some time in the evening he was 
 informed that there was to be a Masonic execution that 
 night ; that a Mason had violated his Masonic obligation, 
 by saying " that a book bntitlbd ' Jachin and Boaz ' 
 WAS A TKUB BOOK," in counectiou with some other re- 
 marks, for which he deserved to die. Struck with horror, 
 Mr. Anderton wished to leave the room, but was peremp- 
 torily denied permission to retire, being told " that is 
 
 NEVER ALLOWED ON SUCH OCCASIONS." Lot WaS Cast whO 
 
 should be the executioners. The .ot fell on a Dane, on a 
 Swede, and on Mr. Anderton. Learning that William 
 Miller was the person to be executed, by the most heart- 
 rending entreaties, Mr. Anderton was excused from the 
 Masonic duty of being an executioner of his friend. The 
 others plead no excuse. A cap of coarse cloth, to be 
 drawn over the head, strung with a rope in the hem, to 
 be drawn by the executioners round the neck, was the 
 instrument which contained the machinery of death for 
 the unsuspecting victim. The hour of midnight dark- 
 ness arrived, the executioners took their stand 
 near, and at the left hand of the presiding Masonic 
 officer. All things being in readiness, Mr. Miller, mis- 
 trusting no danger, but with expectation of receivinf a 
 degree of Masonry, according to the promise made to 
 him, was led inio the room, hoodwinked, with his c"«t 
 
21 
 
 otf and in a slow march was conducted near the execu- 
 tioners. The question was asked and repeated, agreea- 
 Wy to Masonic custom — " Who comes there ? "Who comes 
 there ?" The answer was bawled out, as the execution- 
 ers seized him, " A damned traitor who has broken his 
 Masonic obligation." As the cap of death came over his 
 head, he had just time to ciy, " O my God ! are you go- 
 ing to murder me ? O my wife ! my children !" when his 
 cries were stopped short by the suffocating cord drawn 
 round his neck, with the lull strength of the undaunted 
 executioners, and the victim fell to the floor in the agon- 
 ies of dea.th. The executioners bracing their feet against 
 his body, continued their tug at the rope with increasing 
 violence, " while others of the fraternity fell upon the 
 body, cut the throat, and then his left side and breast 
 open, so as to show his heart; during which horrid 
 scene, some of the thirty-flve or forty persons in the 
 room, exhibited signs of sympathy; but the greater 
 part," to use Mr. Anderton's own words, " using the most 
 profane, revengeful language, with their flsts clenched, 
 grinned with horrid approbation ! !" 
 
 After the execution, they carefully conveyed the body 
 from the Lodge-room in the third stofy lof a building, and 
 threw it into Lymekiln dock, after which Mr. Anderton 
 left the city as soon as possible, and embarked for 
 America in a Russian ship. Mr. Anderton further states, 
 that he had experienced instances of shipwreck, and had 
 met the enemies of his country at the awful cannon's 
 mouth, but never before had those feelings which he ex- 
 perienced on being a witness to the Masonic execution 
 of William Miller. Many particulars of Mr. Anderton's 
 affidavit have been passed over for the sake of brevity, 
 and the substance only of the whole has been given. 
 
 In corroboi?ation of the foregoing statement, a Mrs. 
 Agnes Bell, now resident of the city of Boston, has made 
 oath before the same7ohn W. Quincy, justice, testifying 
 for substance as follows : 
 
 " That sue was oorh in Belfast, in Ireland, and brou^lit 
 
33 
 
 up within sight of Mr. (Jreenwood's house, where a tav- 
 ern was kept in the lower story of the building at Lyme- 
 kiln dock, over which, in the third story, was the Masonic 
 Lodge-room described by Mr. Anderton. That she dis- 
 tinctly recollects seeing the dead body of William Miller, 
 wet and muddy, before the liall of Mr. Greenwood, on 
 the day after the King's birthday, in a certain year o( 
 her life, which she particularly designates, and 
 which exactly corresponds with the year 1813, and the 
 5th day of June in that year, which was the very day fol- 
 lowing the evening of the horrid execution, as testified 
 by Mr. Anderton. And she further states that Mrs. Miller 
 was heard to say that her husband went to the Lodge 
 the evening before in health, and that she hoped she 
 would live to know who murdered him. And further, 
 that the Masonic fraternity assembled on the occasion, 
 formed one of tbe most numerous processions of the kind 
 ever known in Belfast, and interred the body with Ma- 
 sonic honors!" O horrid works of darkness! Masons as- 
 sembled in large procession, clad in the habiliments of 
 mourning, professedly to lament over, and perform the 
 Masonic ceremony of " Into- tht hands, Almighty 
 Fatheb, wb commend the soul of oub loving Bkoth. 
 BR," — and thus inter the body oi a professed worthy 
 brother, whom they had Masonically executed the night 
 before, as a perjured wretch, and a violator of Masonic 
 obligations. 
 
 In further confirmation of the Masonic execution of 
 William Miller, a"3 testified by Mr. Anderton, there are 
 also several gentlemen now residing in America,^who 
 were citizens of Belfast at that time, and have recently 
 favored the public with certificates of their knowledge oi 
 the excitement produced in Belfast and that region, by 
 the murder of William Miller, under circumstances cor. 
 responding with Mr. AndertonM affidavit. 
 
 Other instances of Masonic execution are before the 
 
public, and might be brought into the amount of testi- 
 mony on the point before us, if it were necessary. But 
 let it suffice to say, in general terms, there is little, if any 
 room, to doubt that many of the numerous murders 
 which have polluted this and other lands with blood, 
 which horrid deeds have been palmed on some innocent 
 or unknown persons, have been really the bloody fruits 
 of Masonic executions, while, as at Belfast, the perpe- 
 trators themselves were mingled with the crowd, perhaps 
 distinguished with Masonic badges of mourning, and 
 heard to say, "Alas ! Bbothkh," while the blood of ven- 
 geance was crying against them from the horrid place ot 
 execution. And it is awfully to be feared, that when the 
 light, of eternity shall shine on the darkness, and every 
 secret thing shall be brought to judgment, it will then be 
 found, that many of the sudden deaths in the world have 
 been the result of Masonic venobanck, in the execution 
 of M asonic penalty in a Lodge-room, or personal dispatch 
 by p oison, or assassination ; as the ghosts of the murder- 
 ed A j-temus Kenedy, near Boston, the poisoned Simmons, 
 of A Ibany, and a host of others, would doubtless testify 
 now , were they permitted to speak. 
 
 Lilt it next be considered whether the laws of civiliza- 
 tion justify the execution of Masonic penalty, or whether 
 suclt execution, in the eye of the civil law, constitutes 
 the act of murder. 
 
 The former position must be denied, and the latter af- 
 firmed, for this obvious reason, that the civil law makes 
 no provision for the private trial, private conviction, pri- 
 vate conaemnation, and secret execution of any human 
 being, in any case, for any oflfense whatever. The civil 
 law requires that all accusations, trials, convictions, and 
 executions, shall be public, and subject to public inves- 
 tigation. But the whole process which leads to, and ter- 
 minates in Masonic executions, is done in secret. If 
 JBIasouic law is violated, the accusation and trial Of the 
 
S4 
 
 offender are performed in the secret conclave of Free- 
 masonry, and not a witnees is admitted, even on the de- 
 fense, unless he belongs to the fraternity. If Masonic 
 testimony convicts the culprit, no sacrifice can atone. 
 Death is the penalty ; and vengeance never can be ap- 
 peased short of execution. Either the laws of Masonry 
 must be totally disregarded, or the offenders against the 
 majesty of Masonic laws 'must be put to death in the exe- 
 cution of Masonic penalty. And the whole process, from 
 be ginning to end, must be done under cover of midnight 
 darkness, or with the most profound secrecy. Hence, 
 Masonic executions, being conducted in direct violation 
 of the requirements of the civil law, must be pronounced 
 unlawful. 
 
 In Masonic executions, the design is to take life. The 
 act is premeditat ed. And in the performance, it may be 
 safely concluded, that there is no want of the spirit of 
 malice afore-thought, and vengeance, in operation. The 
 conclusion, on the whole, then, must be obvious, that the 
 civil law does not, can kot justify the execution of Ma- 
 sonic penalties, but condemns it is toto as an act of 
 murder. This must be evident from the very nature of 
 the crime. What is it that constitutes murder in the 
 judgment of the civil law? It is the taking of human life 
 unlawfully, with design, and with malice aforethought. 
 All these concomitants are comprised in every Masonic 
 execution. The life of man is taken unla w i'ULLT, because 
 done in secret; with DEsiaw, because premeditated; and 
 with MALICE AFOKBTHOTTGHT, "becausc done in the spirit 
 of vengeance. Consequently, every Masonic execution 
 constitutes an act of murder. The doctrine is virtually 
 admitted even by Masons themselves. Why did not the 
 witnesses testify what they knew, when legally required 
 so to do, in the case of the noted abduction in the State 
 of New York? They tell us why; they were consciously 
 dumb, and obstinately refused to declare the truth, for 
 
/ear of implicating themselves in the murder of Morgan ! 
 How often is the question asked, " Must the whole Ma- 
 sonic fraternity he impeached, hecause a few miscreants, 
 or outlaw Masons have murdered Mobgam ?" The im- 
 port of this Masonic question is an implicit acknowledg- 
 ment, that those who did put Morgan to death, mdbderbd 
 him. If so, it is equally true, that all who advised, and 
 aided knowingly, whether directly or indirectly, were 
 accessories to his death, and consequently were murder- 
 ers in the judgment of civil law, and in the sight of God. 
 This settles the point that the Masonic institution stands 
 chargeable with the blood of all the victims who have 
 fallen sacrifices to its vengeance, in the execution of Ma- 
 sonic penalties. Although the horrid deeds of death 
 may have been perpetrated by a few conscience-hardened, 
 heaven-daring Masons of high sounding titles, and un- 
 known to thousands of lower degrees, wJlo would shud- 
 der at the thought of being accessory to an act ot mur- 
 der; yet such is the nature of the Masonic institution, 
 that it makes provision for the commission of the highest 
 crimes, and all who know this fact, and have been volun- 
 tary accessories to any instance of Masonic execution, 
 are guilty of the blood which is charged upon the institu- 
 tion, whose blood-stained law they have sworn to support, 
 and still determine to maintain. 
 
 The institution of Freemasonry not only makes provi- 
 sion for the COMMISSION of crime, but also for the con- 
 cealment of all crimes perpetrated under cover of Ma- 
 sonic secrecy. 
 
 One clause of Masonic obligation is thus expressed: 
 
 "I promise and swear that a Master Mason's secret, 
 committed to me as such, and I knowing him to be such 
 shall remain as inviolable in my breast as in his own, 
 Murder and Treason excepted, and they left to my own 
 Section." 
 
 In the Masonic oath, provision is made to conceal 
 
Perjury, Theft, Arson, and all other crimes with the 
 above conditional exceptions. Should any crime, ex- 
 cept murder and treason, be perpetrated, and the circum- 
 stances be committed as a secret to a brother Mason, 
 that brother is bound by his Masonic oath, even in the 
 Master Mason's Degree, to keep the secret forever, on 
 penalty of death. But in the oath of the Boyal Arch De- 
 gree, Masons are bound to keep the secrets of a compan- 
 ion without exception. The words are : 
 
 " I promise and swear, that a companion Royal Arch 
 Mason's secrets, committed to me as such, and I knowing 
 him to be such, shall remain as inviolable in my breast 
 as in his own, mubdbr and tbbason not excepted. 
 
 A modification of this oath, " to keep all the secrets of 
 a companion without exception," amounts to the same 
 import. For, as murder and treason are conditionally 
 excepted in a lower Degree of Masonry, the oath of a 
 HiGHBK Degree to keep all the secrets of a companion 
 without exception, amounts to the very same as mubder 
 
 AND treason not EXCEPTED." 
 
 Such provision is made by the institution of Masonry, to 
 conceal enormous crimes. This awful truth has been ver- 
 ified to the shame, confusion and guilt of our whole coun- 
 try. The crime of murder has been concealed, so far as to 
 protect the perpetrators from the hand of justice, by an 
 accumulated amount of perjury. And as long as Masons 
 adhere strictly to the obligations of their institution, 
 murder and treason, and every other crime which may 
 be perpetrated by Masons, and known only to such as 
 consider the obligations of Masonry sacredly binding, 
 will continue to be concealed, let the amount of perjury, 
 or fines, or imprisonment, be what they may. If forty 
 Masonic offenders should be executed privately; forty 
 widows be left in charge of two hundred and forty fath- 
 erless children ; and forty thousand Masons were execu- 
 tioners, or accessories to the scenes of death, not a word 
 
an 
 
 o£ teetituony Could be drawn £tom one of them, to con- 
 vict an individual of crime, so long as all concerned ad- 
 hered strictly to the obligations of Masonry. Subpsena 
 the forty thousand men, put them under oath to declare 
 the whole truth, strict adherence to the Masonic obliga- 
 tions would induce them to remain obstinately silent on 
 the stand, in contumacy and defiance of the power of the 
 civil law, or to testify oonf ederately, that they knew noth- 
 ing of the aflfair, and thus perjure themselves, to conceal 
 the crime of murder, though each were fined two hun- 
 dred and fifty dollars, amounting to ten millions, which 
 would be drawn from the funds of Lodges, Chapters, and 
 Encampments, to defray the expense of Masonic fidelity. 
 The spirit of Freemasonry exerts every nerve of power' 
 to suppress the circulation of its enormities, even after 
 their public disclosure. How carefully was the Morgan 
 abduction, and all the abominations connected with that 
 heaven-daring outrage, kept out of every newspaper in 
 our country which was under Masonic influence ! Doubt- 
 less, the account would have been suppressed, and the 
 public would have remained ignorant of the facts to this 
 day, had not the independent spirit of Fbbb Presses 
 broken the Masonic enchantment, and set the awful 
 truth before the world, And even after the dead body of 
 Morgan was found, indisputably identified, and laid 
 down to rest in the grave, what but the spirit of darkness, 
 could have invented a stratagem equal to the Masonic 
 imposture which was played oflf upon the public, by. the 
 claims of a Canadian pretender to that body, for the pur- 
 pose of disproving the death of Morgan, and to conceal 
 the crime which had brought him to the tomb. On any 
 other principle than artifice to conceal Masonic crime, 
 who can account for the facts, that a Mrs. Monroe, from 
 Canada, should journey into the State of New York, in 
 quest of the dead body of her husband, with witnesses to 
 prove the claim, and after finding the body which had 
 
,3S 
 
 been so clearly proved to be the dead body of "William 
 Morgan, by incontestable marks, should lay claim to the 
 same body, and prove tiie claim, by the color and texture 
 of the clothing only; yet, to the full satisfaction of Ma- 
 sons far and near. And on any other principle than 
 device to conceal Masonic crime, which Masons are 
 sworn to do, who can account for the bountiful 
 Masonic reward of fifty dollars, which has been publicly 
 declared, without confutation, was given to Mrs. Monroe, 
 by a Mason at the West, with whom had been deposited 
 a larg£ donation from Jerusalem Chapter, in the city of 
 New York, together with sums of*money from other 
 Masonic bodies., for the relief of the western sufferers, in 
 consequence of the Morgan abduction ? All the apparent 
 mystery which veils any part of this subject, from the 
 most obvious light of truth, is explained in a single sen- 
 tence : THE WORKS OF DAKKNESS ARE ALWAYS EMPLOYED 
 TO CONCBAL THE WOUKS OP DAKKNESS. 
 
 With this self-evident position before us, we may ex- 
 amine all the newspapers in the country, which are 
 edited by the Square, Compasses, and Cable-tow rule, 
 and see how many will be found to contain an insertion 
 of .the affidavits of Samuel G. Anderton and Agnes Bell, 
 in relation to the murder of William Miller. Not one, it 
 is presumed ; while in many of their columns may be 
 found Masonic burlesque on a well authenticated account 
 of the preparation of a horrid murder, evidently design- 
 ing to calumniate the character of the deponents, and 
 disprove the truth of their disclosure. After such an ex- 
 ample, how often are Masons^ or their abettors, heard to 
 speak with a sneer on the subject of the Belfast murder, 
 as though it were a mere ridiculous fabrication! But 
 why is a subject of so much interest, treated with so 
 much contempt? Is the account of atrocious murders, in 
 cases where Masonry is not concerned, thus withheld 
 from the public, or turned to ridicule ? If Morgan and 
 
Miller had been executed privately, by Elders of Presby- 
 terian Churches, for cheating their Ministers out of the 
 salary which they had promised, and the facts had after- 
 wards been disclosed and sworn to by some of these re- 
 volting Elders who witnessed the scene, and confessed 
 that they were under oath to keep the transaction a sec- 
 ret forever, but conscience goaded them to a public dis- 
 closure, the circumstances of which were corroborated 
 beyond a reasonable doubt; how long a time would it 
 have required to spread every item of the horrid transac- 
 tion before the American public and the world, till not a 
 man, woman, nor child, that could read or understand, 
 would be found ignorant of the facts ? None would have 
 been uninterested. The story would have been published 
 in every paper ; told in every house ; and condemned as 
 a deed of darkness by the whole community. But thou- 
 sands of the American people are, doubtless, to this very 
 day, ignorant of the most horrid Masonic murders, be- 
 cause they are under Masonic influence, by which the 
 publicity of such works of darkness is suppressed. 
 Thousands are so consumately ignorant, to this very 
 day, as to believe ttiat William Morgan is yet alive, spec- 
 . ulating on his book of Masonic illustrations ; and that 
 Mr. Anderton's account of the murder of "William Miller 
 is a mere Anti-Masonic story, to create public prejudice 
 against Masonry. Such ignorance is the result of Ma- 
 sonic device, to conceal the atrocity of the institution. 
 One important fact, however, is incontestably proved by 
 the Masonic power of concealment, which is, that all un- 
 successful attempts to elicit testimony to prove the wick- 
 ed acts which the oaths of Masonry bind its votaries to 
 keep secret, adds substantially to the list of testimony to 
 prove that the whole Masonic fabric, from the foundation 
 to the top-stone, belongs to the Works of Darkness. 
 When God shall bring all these hidden things to light, 
 then will be known to the world of intelligent beings, the 
 
30 
 
 secret murders, the perjury, and all the horrid deeds of 
 darkness ■which the oaths of Masonry have kept con- 
 cealed. 
 
 III. BbWATJSK it StIBTEBTS JUSTICE ; IS BASED ON IMPOS- 
 TtTBB ; AND HAS BEEN BBNDBRBD POPITLAB ONLY BY SBLF- 
 BXALTATION. 
 
 It stFBVBBTS JUSTICE. The mystic power by which 
 this is done, is in conformity to the following points of 
 Masonic obligation : 
 
 "1 promise and swear that I will obey all signs given, 
 handed, sent, or thrown to me by the hand of a brother 
 Mason." And, 
 
 "I promise and swear that I will aid and assist a com- 
 panion Royal Arch Mason whenever I see him engaged 
 in any difficulty, and espouse his cause so far as to extri- 
 cate him from the same, if it be in my power, -whbthbb 
 
 HB BE bight OB WBONO." 
 
 Strict adherence to these Masonic oaths is capable of 
 producing immense mischief in the subversion of justice 
 A masonic judge on the bench, receiving a sign from the 
 hand of a culprit before him at the bar, is bound, by his 
 Masonic oath, to espouse that culprit's cause, "bight cm 
 WBONG," and acquit him, if possible. A Masonic wit- . 
 ness, seeing the same sign, is bound, by his Masonic 
 oath, to favor the culprit's cause, "bight or wbong," and 
 testify that he knows nothing about the affair, or obsti- 
 nately refuse to give testimony, though it cost him a fine 
 of two hundred and fifty dollars, and three months im- 
 prisonment. A Masonic juryman, seeing the same sign 
 is Masonically bound to bring in a verdict of NOT 
 GUILTY, "bight or wbong." A Masonic civil officer, 
 seeing the same sign, and having charge of a brother, 
 prisoner, is bound, by his Masonic oath, to give the cul- 
 prit an opportunity to escape from justice, "bight oe 
 ■WBONG." A failure in any of these instances, would be 
 a violation of Masonic obligations, and subject the ol. 
 
81 
 
 fltnder to the execution of the penalty of death. Doubt- 
 less in the course of human affairs, many innocent per- 
 sons have been condemned ; the guilty acquitted ; and 
 the rights of the just, given to the unjust oppressor, 
 through the influence of the mystic power of Masonry to 
 subvert justice. 
 
 Thk institution of Frbemasonrt is based on im- 
 POBTUBK. Many of its most boasted claims are found to 
 be a mei'e imposition on the world. It claims a divine 
 origin, while the proof is plain before us, that it is a 
 Work of Darkness. It claims antiquity in its present 
 form, when it is evident that its antique form, if any such 
 form existed, was merely a compound of Jewish cere- 
 monies and heathen mysteries, while the history of Free- 
 masonry clearly proves that the degrees of its present 
 form are the result ot modern invention. It claims a 
 superior degree of the light of Science ; but when its sci- 
 ence Is analyzed, it is found to be merely the science of 
 hoodwinking candidates, and teaching of Boaz and 
 Jachin, Shibboleth and Mah-hah-bone, and a variety 
 of ceremonies too silly to occupy the time of children, 
 and too wicked ever to be practiced by Christians. 
 
 Masonry claims to possess, in a high degree, the virtue 
 of morality, such as charity, honesty, truth, and good 
 will to mankind. But, on investigation of its moral 
 principles by the test of Truth, it proves to be a system 
 of gross imimorality. Its benevolence is mere selfish- 
 ness, confining fraternal charity to the fraternity only. 
 Its honesty consists merely in being under oath not to 
 defraud a brother Mason out of two-pence. Its truth, 
 when put to the test, is found to be an oath on penalty of 
 death, to conceal the truth, even unto perjury, for the 
 preservation of Masonic secrets, and for the concealment 
 of Masonic crimes, let the amount of fines and imprison- 
 ment be what it may. And its good- will to mankind, is 
 found to exist in an oath to execute secret vengeance on 
 
32 
 
 members of the human family, for offenses of the most 
 
 trifling nature. 
 
 And, as the finishing stroke and topmost point of all 
 its superlative arrogations, Masonry claims an indisso- 
 luble affinity to Christianity. It professedly .combineB 
 the hope of the Christian and that of the Mason, to one 
 common , center. Its aim is to inspire the belief, that 
 heaven itself is the superlative Grand Lodge of Perfec- 
 tion ; that God is the Great Grand Master Mason of the 
 Universe; that Christianity and Masonry united, will 
 prepare mankind for the eternal celebrations of .the 
 upper Grand Lodge ; and that all who are thus prepared, 
 will be honored with the chief seats, and be entitled to 
 wear the most precious Jewels of the heavenly Temple, 
 where the nev«r-ending employment will be to Labor 
 with imperishable Masonic Implements, and participate 
 in the sublime Refreshments of an eternal meeting in the 
 "8ANCT0M Sanctosum." Such anticipations, doubtless, 
 have made thousands of Masonic Christians ; inspired 
 them with hope, high as the throne of God ; and filled 
 them with expectations of future happiness, as expansive 
 as the universe, while not a mallet was lifted, nor a 
 stroke employed, nor a step taken, nor a prayer offered, 
 nor a desire raised to the Throne of Mercy, for that 
 purity of heart, that holiness of life, and that good hope 
 through the grace of the Savior, which alone can secure 
 the blessings of a glorious immortality. 
 
 Bat the light of Truth has disclosed the secret, that 
 the Masonic claim of oneness with Christianity is alto- 
 gether fallacious. No system can be coriect which in- 
 culcates directly contrary principles. Masonry does 
 this by a studied union with all kinds of religion. It 
 perfectly accords with the religion of the Pagan, who 
 worships the Apis and Crocodile in Egypt. It conforms 
 to the religion of the. Hindoo, who kneels before -the 
 household earthen images which are to be annually at. 
 
fered fdr eacriflce, in consecrated waters, to the gods of 
 Neptune ; or him who joins in the sacrifice of human 
 ■victims on the funeral pile, or expiates for sin under the 
 wheels of the temple of Juggernaut. Masonry perfectly 
 accords with the religion of Mahomet, and holds the Al- 
 coran in as high veneration as the Christian's Bible. 
 And it equally harmonizes with the religion of the Infl 
 del, who rejects the Bible as a fabrication of human in- 
 vention ; who denies the necessity of a Redeemer ; who 
 pours contempt on the doctrine of Christ crucified ; who 
 ridicules the Christian's fears and hopes, as the chimera 
 of fanaticism, or the vision of a deluded imagination; 
 and prides himself in the belief that reason, unassisted 
 by Divine revelation, is the all-sufflcient guide to happi- 
 ness, both here and hereafter. As a proof that Freema- 
 sonry is equally partial to Infidelity, aa to Christianity, 
 you are presented at one view, with the emblems of each 
 order, at every Masonic procession in the land of Chris- 
 tendom. The open Bible is carried as an emblem of the 
 Christian's rule of life ; while the Square and Compass, 
 on THE OFBN BiBLE, are displayed with equal pomp, as 
 emblematical of the governing principles of reason, the 
 only rule of life acknowledged by the Infidel. By this 
 boasted union with various systems of religion, of direct 
 ly contrary principles, E^eemasonry proves itself to be 
 Anti-Christian, a system of imposture, totally destitute of 
 the doctrine of salvation, devoid of a platform of correct 
 moral principles, and fit only to be classed with the Works 
 of Darkness. 
 The institction op Frbkmasoniit has been bendbbbb 
 
 POPtTLAR ONLT BT SELF-EXALTATION. No institution haS 
 
 been so highly extolled as Freemasonry. Its favorite 
 orators have exerted their highest stretch of power to 
 proclaim its praises to the wondering world. Ignorant 
 of its real character, which was masked in disguise, the 
 world could not dispute its claims, and consequently, its 
 
84 
 
 pathway to honor was unobstructed. Trnder such circum- 
 stanceB, it has been the policy of the Prince of Darkness 
 to raise the popularity of the institution of 'Preemasonry, 
 by enlisting the great, the learned, the nobles of the 
 earth, to become members of the fraternity; While of 
 the religion of the Lord Jesus, it has been said, "Not 
 many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not 
 many noble are called;" of Masonry, it has been the 
 boast of its panegyrists, that great men, mighty men, no- 
 bles, kings of the earth, chief captains of hosts, great 
 lords and counsellors, honorable rulers, chief judges 
 and magistrates, great merchants, rich men, great heroes, 
 great philosophers, learned prelates, dignitaries, bishops, 
 elders, and many members of Christian Churches, have 
 honored the institution of Freemasonry with their mem-' 
 bership. This has been the triumph of the institution, 
 the theme of its orators, and the boast of all its powers 
 of self-exaltation. 
 
 But the period has at last arrived, when the mask of 
 Masonic disguise no longer obstructs the power of per- 
 ception ; and the wondering world is now able to under- 
 stand the MANNER in which all these great, and mighty, 
 and noble, and honorable, and learned men were made 
 Masons. Every one of these great wonders of men, who 
 in his kingly or pontifical attire, appears in a Masonic 
 procession like an inhabitant of some other planet than 
 the earth, whose tinseled and tinkling robe, with golden 
 bells and pomegranates, and whose apparently celestial 
 mitre, with "Holiness to the Lokd," written in large 
 capitals on the forehead, attracting the gaze even of the 
 CHiLDBBN AND SERVANTS OP THE STREETS ; ycs, reader, 
 every such gbkat man, in order to become a great Ma- 
 son, has submitted to be stripped of every article of 
 wearing apparel, to the last article of decency, and that 
 divested of pins and sleeve-buttons ; and to be invested 
 with the additional clothing of a pair of Masonic draw- 
 
85 
 
 ers, tied on with Btrings, reaching a little below the 
 knees ; an old fslipper on one foot, and the other bare ; a 
 tight bandage round the head to cover the eyes, and con- 
 Btltute a poor blind candidate in search of Masonic light; 
 and a rope called a cable-tow, about ten feet long, with 
 one end noosed round his neck. Such is the mere 
 preparation to enter a Lodge-room. How dignified must 
 a great man, or a Minister of the Gospel appear, in this 
 pitiful plight! And yet every great man, to become a 
 Mason, has been thus prepared, in a little adjoining 
 apartment, to enter a temple of Masonic science, totally 
 ignorant of the matter, and form, and oath, and ceremo- 
 ny, which were there to be required ot him. He saw 
 nothing, he knew nothing, for he appeared to himself 
 like a fool. But his friendly guide announced his readi- 
 ness to go forward ; and after a round of ceremonies, the 
 door of the Lodge-room was opened, and he was permit- 
 ted to enter. As he passed the threshold of the "SAifC- 
 TUM Sanctorum," to his sudden and great surprise, his 
 left breast came in contact with the sharp point of the 
 Compasses held and guided by a Masonic oflBcer. At 
 the same instant, he was, probably, almost shocked out 
 of his wit, by the apparent thunder of a fraternal stamp 
 on the floor with the foot, which every Mason in the 
 room performed with his might. After Traveling awhile 
 round the room in darkness, he was directed to kneel on 
 the floor, for the benefit of a prayer, which is usually a 
 written form, without the name of Jesus in it. After 
 further ceremonies, he was directed to kneel on his left 
 knee, to place his left hand undek the Bible, and his 
 right hand on the open Book, Square, and Compasses, in 
 which position he was required to take the oath of an 
 Entered Apprentice, swearing to keep all the secrets of 
 Masonry, on penalty of death. Amidst the roar of anoth- 
 er fraternal stamp, the bandage from the eyes being sud- 
 denly removed, he was next brought to behold the amab- 
 
86 
 
 TSOt light of three burning candles, the almofct daaallng 
 brightness of which, he was instructed to understaad, 
 represented the Sun, Hoon, and ■WoBSHiPFxnj Master of 
 a Lodge. What most wonderful light! What sublime 
 representations! Next, he was instructed to understand, 
 that pressing his thumb nail hard upon the upper joint 
 of the fore finger of a person with whom he shakes 
 hands, is the grip, the sign, and the first token of a Mason 
 and that its name is Bo-az, which name he was sworn 
 never to reveal, on penalty of having his throat cut, and 
 his tongue torn out by the roots. After a round of cere- 
 monies of similar importance, to teach him the royal 
 Masonic art of keeping a secret, and bestowing OHABirr 
 ON WOBTHT BSOTHBB Mabonb, he was divested of hit 
 drawers and slipper, invested again with his own appar- 
 el, presented with a Masonic apron, taught how to tie it 
 on and wear it, and he was Masonically pronounced in 
 Bntbbbd Appbbntiob Fbeemason. 
 
 Such is the manner in which men enter the door lead- 
 ing to all honor and gbeatmebb to which a multitade of 
 Masonic Degrees, equal in folly, and far superior in wiok- 
 edness, can raise a human being. And now the world 
 must be excused f<>r deciding that Freemasonry has been 
 transported into popularity by self-exaltation without 
 merit. For the light of Truth has discovered that all its 
 accumulated greatness derived existence only from the 
 profusion of its own praise. All its boast of wonder has 
 proved to be the empty sound of the trumpet of self-exal- 
 tation. This alone has rendered Masonry popular in the 
 world ; and the public knowledge of this fact has tum- 
 bled the whole self-exalted fabric into the depths of de- 
 gradation. It has become a proverb and a by-word, a 
 reproach among mankind. For, among other abomina- 
 tions, the subversion of justice, its deception, pretensions, 
 and its self-exalted nothingness, have engraved it on thd 
 list of the Works of Darkness, never to be obliterated. 
 
8? 
 
 If such is the nature of Speculative Freemasonry, then 
 all lovers of God, lovers of mankind, and well-wishers 
 to the best interests of community, are under special 
 obligation to renounce it; to withdraw fellowship from 
 all who adhere to it; to reprove it by precept and exam- 
 ple; and, by every laudable eflFort, endeavor to extermin- 
 ate its influence from the society of mankind. Such is 
 the admonition of an inspired apostle: "Have no fellow- 
 ship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather 
 reprove them." Particularly on a review of the forego- 
 ing subjects, it may be remarked, 
 
 1. That all Ministers op the Qospel, op evekt db- 
 
 NOMTNATION, WHO AKK MABONS, AND ALL MASONIC MBU- 
 BBB8 OP ChKISTIAN ChDKCHBS, ARE COLLECTIVELY AND 
 nroiVIDTJALLT BOUND BT THE ATJTHOKITT OP GOD'S HoLY 
 WOKD, TO RENOUNCE PBLLOWSHIP WITH FREEMASONRY. 
 
 They are under no less obligation to renounce fellow- 
 ship with THIS WORK of darkness, and to reprove it, than 
 they are to renounce, abstain ftom, and reprove Adult- 
 ery, Intemperance, Profanity, Sabbath-breaking, Theft, 
 Perjury, Murder, or any other work of darkness that can 
 be named. Adherence to the principles of an institu- 
 tion, combined in its efforts to maintain opposition to 
 Ck>d, can not consist with the maintenance of Christian 
 character. As well may there be communion between 
 the light and darkness ; as well may there be concord 
 between Christ and Belial ; as well may he that believeth 
 have part with an infidel, as for a professed minister of 
 the Gospel, or any private Christian, to continue connec- 
 tion and fellowship with Freemasonry, and still maintain 
 an unblemished Christian character, and an holy walk 
 with God. 
 
 One distinguished part of the device of the_ Prince of 
 Darkness, in promoting the institution of Freemasonry, 
 has been to influence Ministers of the Gospel, and mem- 
 bers of Christian Churches, to become members of th« 
 
Fraternity. Various meaaures have been adopted to ac- 
 complish this purpose. Ministers have been told that 
 the knowledge of Masonry would enable them to under- 
 stand their Bible better, and qualify them for more ex- 
 tensive usefulness to mankind. As a further inducement, 
 the Grand Lodge has decreed, and that decree has been 
 published and practiced in the subordinate Lodges, that 
 Ministers of the Gospel should be entitled to the degrees 
 of Masonry gratis. The devices of the Adversary have 
 so well succeeded, that no small proportion of the Minis- 
 ters of the Gospel have become Masons, and, as a matter 
 of course, many of the members of their respective 
 Churches have followed the example of their pastors. It 
 would be rational to suppose that Ministers, and all pro- 
 fessors of Christianity, after taking the first degree of 
 Masonry, in the degrading manner which we have before 
 described, would be convinced that all the light they ^ad 
 received belonged to the Works of Darkness, and that 
 they would have instantly withdrawn themselves from 
 all fellowship with it, and humbled themselves by deep 
 repentance before God, and unreserved confession before 
 men. Some, it is believed, have done this, but others 
 have not. Should the question be asked me, why I per- 
 mitted myself to take twenty-one degrees of Masonry be- 
 fore I renounced it, I could only answer that such is the 
 indescribable power of Masonic infatuation, that one 
 step into darkness prepares for another, and onward 
 many press, as I foolishly did, in search for light and 
 science, and knowledge and wonders, till Satan, the old 
 infernal Spider, has wound the web of Masonic oaths 
 and penalties, five, ten, fifteen, yes, twenty times and up- 
 wards, round them, binding them by the penalty of death, 
 to continue all their life-time, in the fellowship and 
 practice of the Works of Darkness. How deplorable 
 would have been the condition of Masonic Ministers, and 
 all the Masonic members of Christian Churches, thus en- 
 
3« 
 
 tangled, had there been no method devised, by which 
 they might lawfully escape the snare of the Adversary, 
 ana obey the commandments of God ! 
 
 Many imbibe the idea, that this is in fact the case ; that 
 their Masonic obligations are perpetually and sacredly 
 binding ; and that to renounce Freemasonry, would be a 
 crime of perjury. But, if Masonry is a Work of Dark- 
 ness, how can men be bound by its obligations, when 
 God commands them to renounce it? The obligations 
 themselves belong to the Works of Darkness, and to 
 repent of the sin of taking Masonic oaths, and to break 
 them instantly, is the import of the divine command, 
 when God says, "Have no fellowship with the unfruitful 
 works of darkness." A determination to adhere to Ma- 
 sonic obligations, is in eflfect, to proclaim open war with 
 God and heaven, to set at nought the counsels of Jeho- 
 vah, and pursue tbe road to destruction. 
 
 How perfectly absurd is the idea, that Ministers of the 
 Gospel, and professors of Christianity, who are entangled 
 in the works of darkness, should be bound by oath under 
 penalty of death, to continue in their sinful abominations 
 during life! The amount is, we have sworn to serve 
 Satan forever, and the oath must be performed. What 
 can be more preposterous ? It is clearly proved that the 
 oaths of Masonry are unlawful and wicked, and that to 
 adhere to them will lead men to destruction. It is the 
 doctrine of common sense, that unlawful oaths are not 
 binding. If a man takes an unlawful oath, he is bound 
 by the authority of Heaven to repent of that act, to break 
 that oath, to humble himself before God, and seek for 
 pardon. This is Bible doctrine. This is common sense. 
 Were the forty men of old, bound to murder St. Paul, 
 because they had rashly sworn to do it, on penalty of 
 death, in case of failure ? And would they have perjured 
 themselves, had they repented and publicly renounced 
 vaeir wicked oath ? Was Herod bound to take the life of 
 
40 
 
 John the Baptist, because he had sworn to grant fhe request 
 of a giddy young girl 1 Suppose a man should rashly 
 swear In the morning that he would kill Ms neighbor be- 
 fore sunset, would he be bound to keep and perform that 
 oath f Or would it be his duty to break the oath, and re- 
 pent of the wickedness of malicious swearing to perpe- 
 trate the most horrid crime ? Or suppose a man should 
 be decoyed to take an oath of partnership with a com- 
 pany thus bound by an oath of confederacy, and it should 
 turn out that they were a band of highway robben; 
 would this man be bound by his oath, to rob mails, pick 
 pockets, break open houses, and plunder for gain, at the 
 risk of life and expense of blood, because he had sworn 
 thus to do ? Or would it be his duty to break the oath 
 which bound him to perform such nocturnal depreda- 
 tions, in violation of all laws, human or divine, and to re. 
 pent, forsake, and expose the wickedness of the combina- 
 tion? Who can hesitate a moment in deciding each of 
 the above cases against the binding force of the oaths to 
 commit unlawful acts ? Every such oath is wicked, and 
 ought to be broken; and such are the obligations of Ma- 
 sonry. Every Mason is, hence, sacredly bound by the 
 authority of Heaven, to renounce all his oaths of allegi- 
 ance to the institution of Freemasonry, because they bind 
 to the performance of things unlawful in their nature, 
 absurd and ridiculous in their observance and destructive 
 in their consequences. 
 
 With such contamination, the Churches of our Lord 
 Jesus Christ are polluted. Many Ministers are Masons, 
 and refuse to hear the admonitions and reproof of Heav- 
 en. Many of their members follow their example. 
 Doubtless Satan triumphs in such fidelity to the cause. A 
 Minister of the Gospel, who renounces Masonry, can 
 scarcely find the door of a Church open to his labors 
 among some denominations, for the reason that there are 
 so many adherents to Masonry in the Church. Many^ 
 
41 
 
 Ministers, who are not Masons, dare not unite in the fel- 
 lowship of a seceding brother, for fear of offending some 
 of their Masonic hearers and supporters. General A, 
 Colonel B, Doctor C, Esquire D, Lawyers E and P, Mer- 
 chants G and H, and other great men down to X, Y, and 
 Z, are Masons. Every eye is upon the Minister. The 
 least word or deed that might be construed against Ma- 
 sonry, will ensure the pastor, what is termed by some, a 
 "walking paper," that is, some complaint must be pre- 
 ferred against him, and he must be dismissed, (in dis- 
 grace if possible), from his congregation. Such is the 
 influence of Masonry in the Church. Satan has planted 
 his infernal standard in the center. Many a Church 
 door is tyled with a drawn sword of Masonic power. The 
 ordinances of God are contaminated with the spirit of 
 Masonic vengeance. Many will profess to lament that It 
 is so, and express a wish that it were otherwise. But un- 
 der the Banner of the Works of Darkness, who will dare 
 to face the enemy, and boldly testify the Truth of God ? 
 Not he who is a Mason, and holds to the binding force of 
 its obligations ; nor he who is awed to silence by Mason- 
 ic influence. Such watchmen will have fellowship with 
 the Works of Darkness, when God commands them to 
 renounce, to separate, reprove, and touch not the unclean 
 thing. O when shall the sons of Levi be purified from 
 the defiling powers of darkness 1 When shall the Church 
 be purged from the abominations of Masonry ! On review 
 of the foregoing subject, we remark, 
 3. That it is the duty of the Ministeks oFRELiaiON 
 
 TO PBEACH AGAmST THE ATKOCIO08 NATUKB OF THE INSTI- 
 TUTION OF FbBBMASONRT, with the SAME PLAINNESS AND 
 ENERGY THAT THEY ARE REQUIRED TO USE TN FREACHINa 
 
 AGAINST Sabbath- BREAKING, profanity, intbmperakcb, 
 
 OR ANY OTHER GROSS IMMORALITY. 
 
 One essential characteristic of God's faithfttl Ministers 
 In all ages of the world, has been to sound an alarm when 
 
4S 
 
 danger appeared ; to point out in detail, the prevailing 
 sins of the times ; and plainly warn and admonish the 
 people to repentance and reformation. Those' who failed 
 to do this, forfeited the title of their commission, incurr- 
 ed the displeasure of God, and were held accountable 
 for the guilt and blood of lost souls. Freemasonry, the 
 once pretended "Handmaid ov Rbligion," has proved to 
 be, in reality, a Work of Darkness. And it may, with 
 propriety, be termed Satan's Grand Master-Piece, the 
 very Cap of the Climax, of all his stratagems to accom- 
 plish the work of destruction. Perversion of God's Holy 
 Word; a blasphemous use of his great Name ; aprofanar 
 tion of sacred and holy things ; the subversion of justice ; 
 abominable imposture, perjury, and blood and murder 
 are found in its skirts. Can the Ministers of the holy re- 
 ligion of Jesus be justified then, in the practice of pass- 
 ing over, in total silence, the enormities of prevailing 
 Freemasonry, which threaten destruction of all that is 
 dear in life, hopeful in death, and blissful in eternity? 
 Can they be justified, it is asked, on the ground of being 
 Masons themselves ? Not, indeed, as long as the words, 
 "Have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of dark- 
 ness," stand written in the Book of God. Can they be 
 justified in such neglect, for fear of oflFending some of 
 their Masonic hearers and supporters, or thbib friends » 
 As well might they connive at Sabbath-breaking, profan- 
 ity, drunkenness, theft, falsehood, infidelity, and all other 
 abominable wickedness, for .fear of oftending some of 
 their immoral hearers and supporters, or thbik connec- 
 tions. O how can the watchmen on the walls of Zion, 
 clear their skirts from the blood of souls, while, for the 
 love of praise, or to preserve a false peace, or for fear of los- 
 ing some of their friends, and a portion of their salary, they 
 shut their eyes and ears, and put a seal on their lips, by the 
 plea, "We know nothing about Masonry, and prudence 
 leads us to say nothing about it;" or "We are member* of 
 
48 
 
 vhe institution ourselves, and will never violate its most 
 sacred obligations." Surely such ministerial fidelity to the 
 bloodstained institution of Freemasonry, must be the re- 
 sult of ''darkness VISIBI.K," 83 Miltou describes it, yes, 
 darkness incomprehensible, issuing from the smoke of 
 the bottomless pit. 
 
 In view of such considerations, I feel it to be my in- 
 dispensible duty, arising from a sense of my own shame- 
 ful experience of the knowledge of Masonry, to entreat 
 my brethren in the holy ministry, and add to my entreaty 
 a solemn warning, especially to those who are Masons, 
 to renounce, come out, and be separate from Masonic 
 abominations. All others I would entreat and beseech 
 to lift up tbeir voice, and be not afraid, but testify pub- 
 licly and privately, against the Works of Darkness. If 
 Masonic members of Churches will cleave to Masonry, 
 and falsely deny the enormities of its nature, exclude 
 them from the communion of the Church, that the Sanc- 
 tuary may be purified from the foul contamination. Yes, 
 I would entreat and beseech the judicatories of the 
 Church, of all denominations of Christians, to unite their 
 wisdom, their talents, and pious efforts, to withstand, 
 suppress, and root out this formidable enemy of right- 
 eousness, with all its combined and complicated powers 
 of deception, until it is exterminated from our land, and 
 banished from the world. If Ministers have been instru- 
 mental in promoting its popularity, let Ministers humble 
 themselves to be more instrumental in promoting Its 
 overthrow. Though it may cost them their good name, 
 the hatred and opposition of Satan, the contempt and 
 persecution of wicked men, and the venqeancb of Ma 
 sons, yet God will not fail to reward them with his prom- 
 ised blessing. And as a seal of the testimony which I 
 have borne, and now bear, against the institution of Free- 
 masonry, I do now most solemnly protest against, and 
 totally disavow, the prevailing usage of those Churches 
 
oif all denominations of profesBing Ohristlans, who con- 
 sider it no breach of Gospel rule, to hold m their con- 
 nection and fellowship the avowed adherents of an insti- 
 tution which belongs to the Works of Darkness, firmly 
 believing it to be my duty to renounce the fellowship of 
 all professing Christians who denominate themselves 
 Freemasons, who knowingly and sentimentally avow the 
 usages, and professedly hold in sacred veneration the 
 binding force and virtue of the obligations of Specula- 
 tive Freemasonry. 
 8. Ip the institution of Fkebmasoniit BBLONaa to 
 
 THE WOKKS OP DaBKNBBS, THBN OUR ClVXL InsTITUTIOWB 
 ARB m JBOFABDT. 
 
 The light of Truth has disclosed the long concealed 
 fact, that one of the principal objects of the institution 
 of Freemasonry, is to secure the posts of office, the seats 
 of honor, the ensigns of power, with all their emolu- 
 ments, and thus sway the energies of Civil Gk>vernment. 
 To secure this march to the summit of elevation, is the 
 clause in the oath of the Royal Arch degree, and whi«h, 
 tt is well known, has been introduced in some Lodges, as 
 a part of the Master Mason's Obligation: 
 
 "I promise and swear that I will vote for a brother or 
 companion Mason, and promote his election to office, 
 in preference to any other candidate of equal qualifi- 
 cation." 
 
 It is on this principle, and this only, that it can now 
 be accounted for, that about two thirds, it not three 
 fourths, of all the offices of our civil, military, and mu- 
 nicipal departments of government have been filled with 
 Masons. Even from the responsible trust of the Presi- 
 dential Chair, to the most inferior town office through- 
 out our wide-spread Republic, a majority of Masons, it 
 is believed, still bear rule ; and Masonry, (with other 
 things designated by Agur of old), will never say, "It is 
 
46 
 
 wsoxmm," as long ai there ii an office within the bound* 
 of the nation, which is not filled with a Mason. 
 
 Secret Societies are always dangerous to Civil Govern- 
 ment; and none is in greater danger than a Republican 
 form of government. Its offices being filled by the elec- 
 tive franchise, public and individual rights can be se- 
 cured only by the suffrage of a free people. But the 
 whole body politic can not be free and independent so 
 long as a part of the community are combined under 
 oath of secrecy and under circumstances to arro- 
 gate to themselves the power of confederate in- 
 fluence, to promote each other's elevation to of- 
 fice, honor, wealth, and power, in preference to mem- 
 bers of the other part of community, who are acknowl- 
 edged to possess equal qualifications. This is precisely 
 the advantage, -which Freemasons, under the mask ot 
 charity and good-will to man, have exercised over the 
 rest of community. By this advantage, it has evidently 
 been their aim to secure the exclusive right of office, 
 emolument and government. And ere the Common- 
 wealth was apprised of the imposture, or discovered 
 omens of danger, the chains of Masonic despotism were 
 forging, and preparations fast making to bind the natloa 
 in its power. 
 
 What the result would have been, had the Worki of 
 Darkness met with no repulse, is beyond the power of 
 present calculation. Suppose the secret machinations of 
 Masonry had succeeded without molestation, until, by 
 Its mystic power of elevation, all the commanding officers 
 of the military and maritime forces of our national de- 
 fense, all officers of the civil government, post-masters, 
 and directors of the various banking establishments, had 
 been Masons ; and all the financial resources of the zw- 
 tion, had been brought within the compass of Masooie 
 grasp. 
 
 After all this preparation, suppose a plot tuA 
 
formed to overthrow onr dear bought ■Repnblicftn Gor- 
 ernment ; to erect a throne in this Western World, and 
 place it on a Grand, Sublime, Royal, Ten Times Thrice 
 BIustrioUB, and Absolutely Sovereign Masonic King. 
 Suppose the "THrRTHaiNTH day of the moiith Adab" 
 had been selected to blow the trumpet in Washington, 
 and proclaim, "God Save thk Masonic King," while all 
 the members of the Grand and Subordinate Lodges, 
 Chapters, and Encampments, in the Union, having been 
 notified by posts, to prepare themselves on the day ap- 
 pointed, were well harnessed with sword, shield and 
 buckler, and commissioned to kill, slay, and utterly de- 
 stroy all who would not respond to the sound of the na- 
 tional trumpet, "God save the Masonic King." To de- 
 fray the expense of all necessary force of arms, in secur- 
 ing the triumph of a Coronation, and unconditional sub- 
 mission to his Sovereign Masonic Majesty, suppose the 
 grasp had been made on the vaults of the numerous 
 banks, and money offered in exuberance to all who would 
 enter the field in support of the Revolution ; under such 
 circumstances, what would have prevented the total over- 
 throw of our National Government, and the establish- 
 ment of an Absolute Masonic Monarchy? If the Govern- 
 ment ot France was revolutionized in three days, 
 mifht not the Government of these United States have 
 been changed to Monarchy in one day, by the Mystic 
 Power of Masonic Stratagem ! Nothing could have pre- 
 vented such a revolution, but the interposition of that 
 Divine Providence which has broken asunder the strong- 
 ly fortified enchantments of Freemasonry, and exposed 
 its works of darkness to the world. The God of Israel 
 has interposed. Glory be to his name ; the Lord of Hosts 
 has hitherto prevented our national ruin. 
 
 But even on the supposition that the exposures of the 
 abominations of Freemasonry should terminate in civil 
 war, as has been already insinuated, how many thous. 
 
4T 
 
 ands of the miscreants of our land, wonld be found base 
 enough, for the love of money, and rum, and war, to 
 shoulder fire-arms, unsheath the sword, join the Masons, 
 and swear by the strength of the Cable-tow, that they 
 would conquer Anti-Masonry or die? This is no chimera. 
 It Is a measure that is comprised within the "Compass, 
 Bqdarb, and Angle" of Masonic effort. And who can 
 calculate the result of such an outrage on the American 
 Government? The amount of the loss of blood and treas- 
 ure, might be such as Vengeance itself might not be able 
 to countervail, nor to sustain. 
 
 Our only hope is in God. Our prayer is, that under the 
 Divine protection, Americans, who have been taught the 
 lesson of Freedom at the expense of the blood of their 
 fathers, and the widowhood of their mothers, will still be 
 FREE. The titles, and honors, and mottoes of Masonry, 
 savor hard of Royalty, Sovereignty, and Despotism. Let 
 Masonry prevail and prosper, and the deplorable results 
 may be looked for in a Masonic monarchy for our form 
 of government ; a Masonic established religion ; a Ma- 
 sonic church ; a Masonic way to a Masonic heaven ; and 
 blood and massacre, and destruction to all who subscribe 
 not to support the Monarch who sways the energies, and 
 rewards the services of the Works of Darkness. 
 
 Then might be written with tears and blood, America 
 is fallen ! — The last ray of her independence is covered 
 with despotic darkness! Her hope is withered! Woe, 
 woe unfurls the banner of moral desolation over the 
 length and breadth of the once happy land ; while an 
 unholy religion, defended and nurtured by Masonic ven- 
 geance, shall lead millions of immortal beings from the 
 Masonic conclaves of darkness on earth, to the pit of 
 eternal darkness below. O, my countrymen ! my coun- 
 trymen ! beware of the enchanting, delusive adversary, 
 and awake to secure the best interests of the nation ! If 
 Freeibssonry is a work of darkness, engendering destruc- 
 
48 
 
 tion to the morale, and happinew, and souls of men, and 
 inimical to the very existence of our inestimable govern- 
 ment, then to oppose its progress by every laudable 
 measure, trusting in God for success, and praying for 
 the promised brightness of his coming, to destroy these 
 works of the Adversary, must be the indispensable duty 
 of every lover of Righteousness, of Liberty, and Inde- 
 pendence. This is the true spirit of Anti-Masonry. Op- 
 position to the Masonic works of darkness, is the amount 
 of its import. Hence, if Freemasonry is bad, Anti-Ma- 
 Boniy is good. To promote this cause, was the object of 
 the National Convention, in Pittsburgh. May €tod 
 follow their deliberations with his blessing. May the 
 measures which have been adopted, diffuse a savor of the 
 knowledge of the evils of Freemasonry, over the Repubi^ 
 lie of America^ and to the remotest regions of eaith. 
 May the march of the Destroyer be successfully and tri- 
 umphantly opposed at every rallying point of defense, 
 until its power and influence shall be so weakened that' 
 there shall not even be strength enough to cry QuabtebsI 
 — ^And being banished to the land of oblivion, may the 
 blessings of Freedom and Peace be guaranteed to the 
 nation, by the sufGrage of an independent people, and 
 thus be perpetuated, without contamination, to the latest 
 posteritj. 
 
SERMON 
 
 -ON- 
 
 Secret Societies 
 
 DKLIVEEED AT 
 
 WOODSTOCK, CONN., 
 
 Sepiembm- 11 1829. 
 
 BY 
 
 REV. DANIEL DOW, 
 
 PABTOB OF THE GHUBOH IN THOMPSON, CONN. 
 Text : If ye will inquire, inquire ye Isaiah, XXI 12. 
 
 Refcblished by Special Recjoest. 
 
 CHICAGO, ILLINOIS. 
 
 EZRA A. COOK. PUBLISHER. 
 
AN ABLE ARGUMENT FOR FREE INQUIRY. 
 
 A diaeouree at Woodatoaky Conn., Sept. 11, 1839, by Vamel 
 Dow, Paator of the chti/rch in Thom/pscm. 
 
 If ye will inquire, inquire ye. — Is. xxi. 12. 
 
 God has endowed the human mind with the faculty of inquir- 
 ing, reasoning, and, in this way, arriving at the knowledge of 
 truth This faculty, it is conceived, was not given to lie dormant ; 
 but to be exercised. And it would seem inferable from the very 
 constitution of ovu- nature, that nothing ought to be believed ; and 
 that nothing ought to be done, for which no reason can be assigned. 
 Hence it is generally conceded, that free inquiiy is the common 
 privilege of all mankind ;and that in regard to all subjects, so far 
 as is needful to form a proper estimation of them, and to act 
 accordingly. 
 
 It is further to be observed, that God himself, not only allows, 
 but enjoins, the exercises of free inquiry, even upon subjects the 
 most momentous. He does not require us to attend to the concerns 
 of our everlasting salvation, without a rational inquiry. "Come 
 let us reason together, saith the Lord." Saith our Saviour. -'Why 
 even of yourselves, judge ye not what is right?" Again, God 
 calls upon his people, to judge of the equity of his government: 
 "And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem, and men of Judah, judge, 
 I pray you, betwixt me and my vineyard. O house of Israel, are 
 not my ways equal ? are not your ways unequal ?" And even an 
 appeal is made to reason, by an inspired apostle, to prove the 
 Divine existence ; "For the invisible things of Him from the 
 creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the 
 things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead." 
 While on the other hand, such as deny the supremacy of Jehovali, 
 are expressly called upon, to bring forth their strong reasons. It 
 is not displeasing, then, to the Almighty, that mankind should 
 exercise their reason in the investigation of truth. But on the 
 contrary : the belief of any doctrine, or the practice of any sup- 
 posed duty,for which no reason could be given either from the light 
 of nature, or from the Word of God, would not be acceptable in his 
 sight. 
 
Accordingly, all subjects are farely opened to free inquiry. And 
 ■who will dispute the right? Were -we, this day, to search into the 
 merits of any question, relating either to natural philosophy, 
 history, civil jurisprudence, ethics or theology; were we to in- 
 quire concerning any object either in heaven, or on earth, either in 
 the natural, or moral world, and were to do it with a right temper, 
 observing proper decorum, our right to do so, by this enlightened 
 assembly would not be disputed. If the subject of Freemasoniy 
 be an exception, it is the only subject there is, about which it is 
 unlawful to inquire. And even to say, that it is unlawful to inquire 
 about this, requires a reason to be given, which I for one, have 
 never been able to discover. I take it for granted, then, that it is 
 as lawful to inquire about this subject as any other. 
 
 2. Freemasonry is a subject which merits inquiry. If it be 
 what its friends have represented ; of all subjects in the world, it 
 is most worthy of attention. Its most able abettors, Mr. Town, 
 Mr. Preston, Mr. Webb, and others, whose writings have been ap- 
 proved and recommended by the higher authorities of the order, 
 declare it to be not merely the handmaid of religion, but to be 
 Christianity itselt — the highest kind of Christianity, even the per- 
 fection of it. If this be true, it certainly demands inquiry. It 
 should be looked into most carefully, by every one who has any 
 faith in Christianity, and who would ever wish to attain to the 
 measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ. All who can, 
 possibly gain admittance, ought immediately to take their standing 
 in the lodge. And if onahalf of the human race, even all females 
 must unavoidably be forever excluded from participating of its bless- 
 ings and its privileges, it certainly is not too trivial to inquire 
 after the evidences, if not the reasonableness, of so mvsteriona a 
 dispensation. 
 
 If it be, or be not, what its enemies represent, it is a sulgect 
 which merits inquiry. Its enemies aver that all its pretentions to 
 to religion are sheer hypocrisy , that whilst it prolesses to be Chris- 
 tianity, it is in fact nothing but infidelity ; that it profanes the 
 Word of God and the ordinances of religion by apirfying them to 
 the vilest of purposes ; that its oaths are bloody and blasphemous; 
 that its object is wholly selfish, its ceremonies most degrading, and 
 that it is an institution which has not only a tendency to make 
 infidels, but to corrupt the morals of society. All this, and more 
 is asserted by its enemies. Now whether all, or even any of these 
 charges be either true or false, it is a subject which mer its inquiry 
 If they are not true ; inquiry ought to proceed, in order that the 
 foul slander may be wiped away. If any of these charges are true, 
 inquiry ought to proceed, in order that the imposture may be d»- 
 ected, and its deleterious influence counteracted. 
 
Or if it be a subject which in itself as indifferent, of no kind of 
 importance, still it is a subject which merits inquiry. Some there 
 are who consider it as a mere trifle calculated to do neither good 
 nor hurt. If it be so, still very trifling subjects besome important, 
 because they are esteemed important, and the minds of men are as 
 much agitated about them as though they were so ; and hence it 
 becomes needful to inquire into them in order that they may be 
 duly appreciated. Thus with Freemasonry, whatever it may be 
 in itself, it certainly is a subject which has been considered by 
 many as being vastly important ; by some, for its good ; by others, 
 for its bad tendency. There are many here present, who will bear 
 me witness, that it is a subject capable of agitating, and which does 
 agitate the minds of men. Even admitting, then, what some aver, 
 that is a subject of a very trivial nature, inquiry ought to proceed, 
 in order that it may appear such; and that thus all unhappy excite- 
 ment may be allayed, as it certainly will be, when the people become 
 convicted that the occassion of it is a subject of little or no conse- 
 quence. Whether Freemasonry, therefore be as it is represented 
 by its friends ; or as bad as it is represented by its enemies ; or as 
 trifling as any one who feels indifferent has esteemed it ; the inquiry 
 ought to be made. What is this novel and alarming subject, which 
 has been the occasion of so much excitement ? For until it be 
 duly weighed and appreciated, you may rest assured the excitement 
 will not abate. 
 
 This subject merits inquiry, in view of the condition in which 
 it has involved the churches of Christ. It is well known that, at 
 the present time, there are many professing Christians who really 
 believe that Freemasonry is an anti-Christ. At the same time there 
 are members of the Christian church,in all denominations, who 
 belong to that fraternity. Now it would seem from the necessity 
 of the case, that some inquiry should be made, that we may be 
 able, understandingly, to discharge our duty. For how will it be 
 possible for any one to determine, which of the two is in the wrong, 
 or to exercise that Christian watchfulness, which the Gospel re- 
 quires, without serious inquiry into the merits of the case. It 
 would seem, that no Christian church, at this day, can do their 
 duty to their brethren, either in vindicating of reproving them, 
 without inquiry. For without this, they wovdd be as likely to 
 censure. And to sit down and do nothing, when duty calls to ac- 
 tion, would be to sustain the character, and to lall under the con- 
 demnation, of a slothful servant. The present condition of the 
 churches, evinces that inquiry on this subject is needful. 
 
 But perhaps, some will say, all those remarks might be pertinent 
 were the subjects of, such a nature as to admit of inquiry. But 
 
6 
 
 the subject is occult, so wrapped up in impeaetrable davkiless, 
 that nothing cau be known about it; all inquiry therefore ought to 
 be suppressed, because it must be wholly fruitless. I would then 
 observe. 
 
 3 That this is a subject concerning which, inquiry may be 
 made, and information obtained ; at least, so far as is necessary to 
 answer every practical purpose. Were the subjects indeed so occult, 
 that nothing could be known concerning its real merits, a very 
 important inquiry would arise, even in that case, whether any 
 person could be justified in uniting with an institution, -of which 
 it is impossible for him to obtain any previous knowledge. I 
 should judge, that this iuqxiiry ought to occupy the mind of every 
 candidate, till, somehow or other, information could be obtained 
 concerning the merits of what he was about to receive. But it is 
 not a fact, that this is a subject concerning .which no information 
 can be obtained. Secret as the nature of this institution has been, 
 it is now a secret no lodge. More than a thousand, nay, I should 
 not go beyond the probable truth, were I to say, more than two 
 thousand seceding Masons have openly proclaimed it. They pro- 
 fess to have told us, for substance, all that could be either learnt or 
 told. And who are these witnesses ? They are persons of all 
 classes ; from the highest to the lowest grade. Many of them, men 
 of unblemished character. Many of them, men of undoupted 
 piety. Many of- them, ministers of the Gospel; and of all the 
 various denominations of Christian people, Presbyterians, Baptists, 
 Methodists, Quakers, and others in different sections of the coun- 
 try, who could have had no combination together, yet all agreeing 
 in bearing the same testimony, in regard to the secrets and obliga- 
 tions of the Masonic institution. And this many of them have 
 done, when they were thereby exposing themselves to reproaches, 
 and perils, and privations, and mortifications, which they might 
 have avoided by only remaining silent. These witnesses are 
 neither incompetent nor incredible. Nor can their testimony be 
 rejected, without rejecting all human testimony, whatever. Do 
 _you wish for names ? I have not time to give you the whole 
 catalogue, neither is it needful ; but I will mention a few. I would 
 refer you to the Kev. Mr. Thacher, pastor of a Congregational 
 church in Wrentham, Massachusetts ; the Rev. Mr. Jones, pastor 
 of the Presbyterian church in Cabot, Vermont ; the Rev. Mr. 
 Sanborn, pastor of the Presbyterian church, at Painted Post, Steu- 
 ben county, State of New York ; the Rev. Mr. Stearns, pastor of 
 the Baptist church in Paris, State of Kew York ; Mr. Henry Dana 
 
Ward, editor of the Anti-masonie R&niew, in the city of Kew York; 
 the revelation made by a large number of seceders, convened at 
 Le Roy, State of New York; the renunciation of Mr. Mulford, 
 Morris county, New Jersey ; together with the genuine edition of 
 the "Illustrations of Masonry," by Morgan. I might mention many 
 more of equal credibility ; but I forbear. If any one, therefore, 
 would wish to obtain information on this subject, the door is 
 open, opportunity is offered. "If ye will inquire, inquire 
 ye." It is certainly practicable to inquire into the number 
 and creditibility of those witnesses. It is as practicable 
 to inqture into the testimony which they bear. And it is as prac- 
 ticable to inquire, whether the institution, as developed by them, 
 be consistent with the holy religion which we profess. 
 
 4. It would seem that the friends of the institution, themselves, 
 can have no rational objection to a free and unembarrassed inves- 
 tigation of all the facts which relate to this subject. For no cause 
 can be in worse plight than to be laboring under high charges and 
 heavy suspicions, and when investigation is proposed, and proof 
 oftered, to shrink from the investigation and endeavor to suppress 
 inquiry. To do this, is always construed into a consciousness of 
 guilt, and operates more to the disadvantage of the accused than 
 the proof of the fact ; because it not only fastens the guilt, but 
 leaves the imagination to go even beyond what could have been 
 proved. So that even a guilty person has suffered more, in point 
 of character, by avoiding a trial, than he possibly could have 
 done, even had he been tried and condemned. 
 
 5. The inquiry should be made in order that either the institu- 
 tion itself, or the community, may be delivered from the imputa- 
 tion of blood guiltiness. Where murder has been committed, or 
 where there is any ground for suspicion that it has been commit- 
 ted, it is always proper to inquire into the fact ; and if a fact, to 
 inquire who was the perpetrator, and who were the accomplices. 
 Most deplorable, indeed, must be the state of society where crimes 
 of this nature can be committed, and no inquiiy excited. In such 
 a case the whole community must be involved in the guilt. But 
 in this case, it is alleged, that human blood has wickedly been 
 shed- It is alleged that it was done in strict accordance with the 
 oaths and obligations of the Masonic institution. It is also al- 
 leged that lodges and encampments have been acting in concert 
 m perpetrating and concealing this crime. These are awful 
 charges; and the more alarming on account of the number said to 
 be combined together. And now is it not indispensable that some 
 inquiry be made? Should it not at least be asked, whether it be a 
 
8 
 
 probable fact, that such a crime has been committed ? And -wheth- 
 er it be a fact, that there is an institution in our land, which claims 
 the right of thus disposing of the lives of its members, and who 
 have bound themselves together, by horrid oaths, to submit to 
 such a claim, and if not to aid in the commission of such crimes, 
 yet to conceal them when committed, and to use their utmost 
 efforts to screen the guilty from justice? If there be the least 
 ground for the suspicion that such are the facts, it is not to be 
 wondered at, that all good men should feel alarmed; and it is cer- 
 tainly proper that the inquiry should proceed. For, without it, if 
 the charges be untrue, the innocent must labor under an unjust 
 and cruel aspersion. Or, if they be true, the whole community 
 must be under a vast load of guilt in being silently accessory to 
 the shedding of blood. Justice to the public, as well as to the in- 
 dividual sufferer, demands that the inquiry proceed. "If ye will 
 inquire, inquire ye." 
 
 6. There are some things upon the very face of the institution; 
 some effects which it has produced; and some things which have 
 been done with respect to it, which do most imperiously demand 
 inquiry. The propriety of an oath, administered to the young 
 and to the unwary, when he who takes it knows neither the form 
 nor the subject of it, justly demands inquiry. When men are 
 made to swear to obey all orders which may be handed, sent, or 
 thrown to them, and to keep all secrets which may be committed 
 to them, murder and treason excepted, and in some instances, 
 murder and treason not excepted, it is certainly time to inquire 
 whether such oaths are consistent, either with the love of 
 God, or of man. Again, Masonry is either a religious institution, 
 or it is not. If it is not a religious institution, how comes it to pass 
 that such intelligent men as Mr. Town, Mr. Preston, Mr. Webb, 
 and others, so confidently assert that it is ? How comes it to pass 
 that grand lodges, chapters and encampments, have recommended 
 these writers as giving a just account of the institution? How 
 comes it to pass that this sentiment has either been openly avowed 
 or passed over without remonstrance, by all the members of the 
 firaternity, with scarce a single exception, till within a few years 
 past ? How comes it to pass that such orders are formed in the in- 
 stitution, as deacons and priests, and grand high priests, and grand 
 prelates ? How comes it to pass that so many religious emblems 
 are made use of, and such as are borrowed bom the most sacred 
 
•9 
 
 ordinances of our holy religion? Why is the Lord's Supper mi- 
 micked? And why is there an exhibition of the most solemn 
 scenes described in the Word of God, not only on earth, but also 
 in heaven? How comes it to pass that we sometimes see, inscribed 
 in large letters upon the scarf of a Masonic High Priest, HOLI- 
 NESS UNTO THE LORD ? And how comes it to pass that even 
 professed ministers of the Gospel, whose praise is in all the lodges, 
 have publicly declared that the Masonic secret is nothing less than 
 the manna which came down from heaven, and the white stone 
 and the new name which no man knoweth, saving he that receiv- 
 eth it? If it be not a religious institution, is it not needful to in- 
 quire whether a most wicked imposture hath not been practiced, 
 and the sacred institution of religion caricatured ? It would seem 
 that they who now tell us that Masonry is not a religious institu- 
 tion, are speaking very reproachfully of the ceremonies, the em- 
 blems, and the practices of the order, and are, in fact, impeaching 
 the whole fraternity, as a body, of acting the part of hypocrisy, 
 from the very commencement of the order down to the present 
 time. You will observe that it is not I who assert that Masonry 
 does not claim to be a religious institution. But surely, those 
 gentlemen who do make the assertion, (unless they are willing to 
 give up the institution as altogether indefensible), ought to consid- 
 er well what they say. If it be not a religious institution, why 
 has it always made such claims and pretentions, and why are re- 
 ligious emblems made use of? But if it be a religious institution, 
 the inquiry certainly ought to be made, what sort of religion is it? 
 The constitution of Freemasonry takes the broad ground that per- 
 sons of all religions, whether they be Christians, or Jews, or Mo- 
 hammedans, or pagans, may be admitted as members of the frater- 
 nity; and he that believes in the existence of any God, whether 
 one or a thousand, or whatever the character of his gods may be, 
 may have a right, so far as religion is concerned, to all the peculi- 
 ar and distinguishing immunities, and blessings, and privileges of 
 Freemasonry. The question then very naturally arises, (and who 
 will say it is not an important question?) What religion does 
 Freemasonry teach ? Is it Christianity ? Is it Judaism ? Is it Mo- 
 hammedanism? Is it paganism? Or does it place them all upon a 
 common level? Surely, if religion is professedly taught in this in- 
 stitution, it cannot be considered as impertinent or uncivil to in- 
 quire what sort of religion it teaches, that we all may determine 
 
10 
 
 whether it be "such a religion as we would wish to be taught, and 
 that the public may supply themselves with suitable books and im- 
 plements, and be prepared to receive the instruction which it gives. 
 And if it be onljf the handmaid of religion, as some say, it is cer- 
 tainly desirable, in order that both the hand-maid and the mistress 
 may perform their appropriate duties, that it may be well under- 
 stood what this hand-maid has to do, and what may be reasonably 
 expected of her. And would it not, sometimes, be proper to in- 
 quire whether she has in fact, done the service assigned her J It 
 does seem that there are some things here, in the very claims and 
 pretentions of the institution, which do especially demand in- 
 quiry. 
 
 Again, it does appear, that great evils have resulted from secret 
 societies, and sometimes have grown out of the lodge; as Professor 
 Robison and Abbe Barruel abundantly testify. Is it not needful, 
 then, to inquire what these secret societies have actually done ? 
 What have they done in France ! What have they done in Ger- 
 many V What have they done in Russia, in Prussia, in Spain, in 
 Portugal and in England ? What have they done in Mexico ? And 
 especially, what have they done, and what are they doing in the 
 United States ? If they have done nothing but what is salutary, let 
 it be recorded to their honor. But if it be found to be a fact that 
 revolutions have been meditated, and plans to effect them concerted 
 and matured in the lodge-room, the inquiry ought to be made, in 
 what way such evils may be avoided. 
 
 More than all this, what has been done by others in relation to 
 this subject, who are not members of the institution, renders in. 
 quiry peculiarly needful. Whether at first there was any necessity 
 for the inquiry or not, inquiry has not only commenced, but there 
 are many who have gone so far as to give their verdict. We have 
 documents presented to the public of most weighty import, from 
 very respectable sources. We have not only the confession of 
 Christian brethren and pious clergymen who have seceded from 
 the institution, but we have also the doings of churches, and con- 
 conventions of churches, and associations, and consociations, and 
 assemblies of very respectable civilians, who have passed their acts 
 and resolves, declaring that they have examined this subject with 
 much prayerfulness and deliberation, and that they do find it to be 
 an institution both corrupt and dangerous; inconsistent with mor- 
 ality, with liberty, with religion, and with law. T^ey aay so. 
 
11. 
 
 Now the public acts of such respectable bodies' certainly demand 
 a respectful attention. If they have acted right, and in tlie view 
 of evidence, we ought to concur with them. If they were mistalc- 
 en, and their acts improper, we are not bound, indeed, by their de- 
 cisions, but we have no right to say they have done wi'ong, until 
 we have made the inquiry ourselves, and can give a good and sub' 
 stantial reason why their decisions should not be afSrmed. To set 
 aside their decisions without inquiry, would be judging the case 
 without hearing the evidence. And if any one can tell how Chris- 
 tians can do their duty to their brethren, with whom they are in 
 covenant, and pay no respect to their doings, I should be glad to 
 be informed. Such public declarations, acts, and resolves render 
 inquiry indispensable. 
 
 I would ask whether it be not the duty of the members of the 
 fraternity themselves to inquire as well as others ? Would ii be im- 
 proper for them to inquire concerning an institution which they 
 may have joined hastily, and of which they frequently confess 
 they know but little ? Would it not be well to . examine still more 
 deeply, what was the o rigin ? what is the nature V what is the de- 
 sign ? what are the secret doctrines and obligations, as well as the 
 open and ostensible claims and pretentions of Speculative Free- 
 masonry? Such things as once were never written, nor printed, 
 nor cut, nor carved, nor stamped, nor engraved, and which, there- 
 fore, could not be so well understood and remembered, are now 
 printed in fair type, and you may read them at your leisure, and 
 reflect: upon them deliberately.- And. is it not.possible, that upon 
 further investigation, you may discover some things which you 
 had overlooked? Or, if you should not be convinced that it had an 
 evil design at, ite commencement, may it not still be a subject ot 
 inquiry, whether it has not been so much corrupted as greatly to 
 mar, if not to spoil the institution ? 
 
 Would it not be well to inquire most seriously, whether the 
 princijples of illuminism have not been introduced into the lodges 
 of the United States and spread to such extent as to be greatly 
 alarming? And would it not be well to inquire, what is the pro- 
 priety of all those higher orders in Masonry, which are confessedly 
 of a very recent origin, and which claim supremacy, not only over 
 all the lodges in this country, but in botli hemispheres ? Would it 
 not be well to inquire, who gave them authority, before you sub- 
 mit to it ! And, would it be improper for you to inquire with re- 
 
18 
 
 spect to the bloody deeds, said to have been committed by Masons 
 in the State of New York, and countenanced by lodges and en. 
 campments, and -whether you are in reality (however ignoranfly 
 and unintentionally) in alliance with, if not in subjection to a 
 body of men who are disposed either to perpetrate, or conceal 
 such crimes ! Or, if the institution be only what the Rev. Joseph 
 Emerson says it is; who admits that it has done all the good it 
 ever will do ; would it not be well for you to inquire whether you 
 might not, even out of condescension to your brethren, to allay 
 this unhappy excitement, to make so small a sacrifice as to give up 
 an institution, which, even its learned advocate acknowledges, has 
 done all the good > that can be expected from it', and which, conse- 
 quently, can be of no farther value, either to yourselves or others ? 
 
 Whether my hearers be Masons or Anti-masons, or neither, it 
 cannot be ihiproper for them to inquire, so far as to be able to give 
 a reason for all they do or say in relation to this subject. 
 
 But in what manner should the inquiry be made ? 
 
 1. With the greatest impartiality. There should be no desire on 
 the one hand to find guilt where there is none, nor on the other 
 hand to cover over iniquity and to justify it when it becomes man- 
 ifest. Evidence alone is to be looked at, and all personal animosi- 
 ties, and favor and all affection, should here be out •t sight, and if 
 possible out of remembrance. 
 
 8. The inquiry should be made with much prayerfulness. The 
 subject, whatever it may be in itself, is likely to be attended with 
 vast consequences. It has a great bearing, not only upon individ- 
 ual character, but upon the interests of the civil community, and, 
 what is of still higher consideration, upon the interests of Zion. 
 We are not without a hope that the agitation which it produces 
 will terminate in the greater purity of the church, and the greater 
 extension of the Redeemer's kingdom. But it may be for the fall, 
 and for the rising again of many in Israel. What great changes 
 it may produce it is impossible for us to fore-tell. Surely, then, 
 an inquiry of this kind should not be entered upon without a sot 
 ^nn sense of the important consequence which may be depending, 
 and without looking to God for that wisdom which comes from 
 above, which is always profitable to direct, but especially needflil 
 on occasions so momentous. 
 
 3. The inquiry should be conducted with decorum. The man 
 who has truth on his side will eventually prevail. If the vision 
 
13 
 
 tarry long, in the end it.will speak. And itis the truth itBeK;.wh6B 
 clearly disoemed, that must produce the desired effect. Let all, 
 therefore, who think they have truth on their side, remember that 
 the -weapons of their warfare should be spiritual and not carnal. 
 Leave all noise, and clamor, and reveling, and evil speaking, 
 to them who have the wrong side of the question. "The wisdom 
 that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to 
 be entreated; full of mercy and good gifts, withput p^tiality, and 
 without hypocrisy." 
 
 4 The inquiry should be made with a sincere desire that such 
 as are in darkness, may be enlightened, and come to the knowl- 
 edge of the truth. Merely to have it said that we have carried a 
 point, or gained a victory, will do little good either to ourselves or 
 others. AH this may be done, and still both we and they may re- 
 main under the power of sin. But if a sinner can be converted 
 from the error of his way, a soul will be saved from death, and a 
 multitude of sins be covered, and that in a far better way than the 
 covering over iniquity Without repentance. In all our investiga- 
 tions, then, and in all our endeavors to enlighten others, we ought 
 to be actuated, and if possible, to give evidence that we are actuat- 
 ed, by a sincere desire to promote their best interest by convincing 
 them of sin and error. Feeling thus, if we are not successful, we 
 shall mourn in secret places, and spread their case before God. 
 And if we are instrumental of doing any good, we shall still walk 
 humbly and give the glory to the Lord. O what joy would there 
 be in heaven if all they who are perishing with famine in this 
 strange land, were to come to themselves, and like the penitent 
 prodigal, form the resolution to retui'u to their heavenly Father's 
 house, where there is bread enough and to spare! 
 
 6. The inquiry should be made under a solemn sense of the 
 judgment day approaching. All may rest assured, that if there be 
 any works done in secret, they will then be brought to light. And 
 if we ourselves are influenced by any improper motives, the secrets 
 of our hearts will then be laid open. Should we not, therefore, 
 even now anticipate the feelings we shall then have, in the review 
 of all that we have ever done, and the eternal consequences which 
 will foUow from it, both to ourselves and our fellow sinners. 
 Brethren, let us all remember, and endeavor to realize that the com- 
 ing of the Lord draweth nigh. 
 
 The right which free citizens have to assemble, to inquire, and 
 
14 
 
 to debate tipon whaterer concerns their interest in this land of lib- 
 «rty. is not to be called in question^ But it is to be desired, and 
 it i« to be hoped, that all the transactions of this day will be so 
 condncted as that you will not be afraid to have them re-examined (as 
 re-examined they certainly will be), nor feel dissatisfied yourselves 
 •with the future recollection of them. Let truth be your object- 
 let universal benevolence inspire your hearts. Walk as children of 
 the light and of the day, and endeavor to commend yourselves 
 to the approbation of yonr G-od, and to the consciences of your 
 fellow-men. "Let all things be done decently, and in order. 
 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things 
 are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, 
 whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good re- 
 port ; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on 
 these things." Under these restrictions, "If ye will inquire, in- 
 quire ye." 
 
SERMON ON MASONRY 
 
 BT 
 
 Rev. "W. P. M'Nary, 
 Delivered in the United Presbyterian Glmrch, Bloomington, Ind., 
 Sabbatli, December 8th, 187.3. 
 
 "Have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darknesi, but 
 rather reprove thMn,. For it is a shame even, to speak of those things 
 which a/re done of them in secret. But all things that a/re reproved 
 wre made manifest by the light. . Wherefore he sa/ith, Awake., 
 
 thou that sleepest, and a/rise from tJie dead, and Christ shall give thee 
 ligM. "—Eph. v. 11-14. 
 
 The testimony of the United Presbyterian chuich declares 
 
 "That all associations whether formed for political or benevoi^it 
 purposef, which impose upon their members an oath of secrecy, 
 or an obligation to obey a code of unknown laws, are inconsistent 
 with the genius and spirit of Christianity, and church members 
 ought not to have fellowship with such associations," 
 
 The number of oath-bound secret societies in this country is le- 
 gion, and each one has its own peculiarities, so that it would be 
 impossible to make an argument against the whole series in the 
 bounds of one discourse. I will therefore confine my remarks 
 principally to the society of Preemaaons, which is the common fa- 
 ther of them all ; but we .may occasionally refer to other so- 
 cieties that have copied the objectionable features of Masonry, 
 when our remarks will apply to them. Inasmuch as we do not 
 desire to speak often upon the subject, we would like to go over 
 the whole ground, and in doing so we can do but little more that 
 state our objections catagorically , together with some authorities 
 In proof of what we may assert. We will not be able to make an 
 elaborate argument on mnny points, but will conscientiously en- 
 deavor to keep within bounds of the truth, and will hold our- 
 selves ready to prove any statement which we may make, at any 
 time or at any place. 
 
 We wish it distinctly understood that we speak against Masouiy 
 
ai an instltutloii and not agadnst Hasons as individnals. I belier* 
 there are many earnest ChriBtians in the order, strange as the fact 
 appears to me, and many of them are my warm, personal friends. 
 I would not therefore wound their feelings on any account, much 
 less injure their charf^cter. No ! I woidd take each one of them 
 by the hand and say to him, my brother, you have gpt into an in- 
 stitution that is unchristian in its character, and immoral in its in- 
 fluence, and your connection with it is a reproach to your Christ- 
 ianity and dangerous to your soul, come out of it my brother as 
 you love your soul. 
 
 I. ThB first OBJBCTI0I7 TO MASONKT IS ITS PROFANE, KN- 
 BNAKING AND TTOLAWPTIL OATHB. 
 
 In illustration of this objection we will make some quotations 
 from these oaths. The Entered Apprentice is taken into the lodge 
 half naked, is make to kneel before the Master and place his left 
 hand under the "Bible, compass and square," and his right hand 
 upon them, and swear by and on these three symbols, that he 
 will obey the constitutions, keep the secrets of Masonrv, &c., and 
 closes in these words, "Binding myself under no less penalty than 
 to have my throat cut across from ear to ear, my tongue torn out 
 by the roots, and my body buried in the rough sands of the sea 
 where the tide ebbs and flows every twenty -four hours; so help 
 me God." — [Light on Masonry, p. 27] 
 
 The Master Mason swears upon the Bible, compass and square, 
 as before, using these words among others, "That I will support 
 the constitution of the Grand Lodge of the state, and conform to 
 all the by-laws, rules and regulations of this or any other lodge of 
 which I may at any time become a member. That a Master Ma- 
 son's secrets given to me in charge as such, shall remain as secure 
 and Inviolable in my breast as in his own, murder and treason 
 excepted, and they left to my own election. That if any part of 
 this solemn oath be omitted at this time, I will hold myself amen- 
 able thereto whenever informed. That I will not violate the 
 chastity of a Master Mason's wife, mother, sister, or daughter, I 
 knowing her to be suclh Binding myself under no less penalty 
 than to have my body severed in two, and my bowels torn out 
 and burnt to ashes and the ashes scattered to the four winds of 
 heaven, my body quartered and dispersed to the four cardinal 
 points of the universe ; so help me God. — [Light on Masonry, p.73.] 
 
 The Royal Arch Mason swears, as before, using these words : 
 
 "That I will assist a companion Royal Arch Mason when en- 
 gaged in any difficulty, and espouse his cause so far as to extricate 
 him from the same, if in my power, whether he be right or 
 wrong'. That if the secrets of . a Royal Arch Mason are given to 
 
me in charge as such, they shall remain as inviolable in my breast 
 as in his own, — mv/rder and treason not excepted" — [Light on Ma- 
 sonry, p. 143.] 
 
 (It is said by some that this last clause, and other clauses that 
 might be objectionable to conscientious men, are sometimes omit- 
 ted, but that the clause which says, "if any part of this solemn 
 oath be omitted at this time, that I will hold myseU amenable 
 thereto whenever informed," is never omitted. There is no 
 doubt, however, but that these words were in the original form of 
 the Masonic oath.) 
 
 The oath of the Thrice Illustrious Order of the Cross, contains 
 these words: "That should I know another to violate any essen- 
 tial part of this obligation, I will use my most decided endeavors, 
 by the blessing of God, to bring such person to the most condign 
 punishment, agreeably to the rules and usages of the Ancient fro- 
 temity." — [Light on Masonry, p. 199.] 
 
 In the Enight Templar degree, a candidate is made to drink 
 wine from a human skull, saying these words: "May all the 
 . sins committed by the person whose skull this was, be heaped 
 upon my head, in addition to my own, should I knowingly and 
 willingly violate this, my solemn obligation." — Light on Masonry, 
 p. 183.] 
 
 Now, we have many objections to these oaths, among which 
 are the following : 
 
 1. No one has a right to administer an oath except an officer, 
 either of a church or state, and all extra-judicial oaths are wrong. 
 — Matt. V. 83: "Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by 
 them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt per- 
 form unto the Lord thine oaths." James 5. 13 : "But above all 
 things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, neither by 
 earth, neiflier by any oath: but let your yea be yea ; and your nay, 
 nay; lest ye fall into condemnation." 
 
 2. An oath is an act of religious worship, and to swear by the 
 "Bible, compass and square," is both profanity and idolatey.— 
 Dent. vi. 13 : "Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God, and serve him, 
 and shalt swear by his name." Isa. Ixv, 16: ''He that 
 blesseth himself in the earth, shall bless himself in the God ol 
 truth ; and he that sweareth in the earth shall swear by the God 
 of truth, "etc. 
 
 3. No person lias a right to swear to obey a code of laws, or to 
 keep secrets, not knowing what these laws and secrets are, for he 
 thereby forswears himself, and blindly gives his conscience into 
 the keeping of fallible men.— Jer. iv. 3: "And thou shalt swear, 
 The Lord liveth, in truth, in judgment, and in righteousness: and 
 
4 
 
 the nations shall bless themselves in him, and in him shall they 
 
 glory." Mark vi. 23: "And he swear unto her, "Vyiiatsoever 
 
 thou Shalt ask of me, I will give it thee, unto the half of my 
 
 kingdom." 
 
 These objections (the Ist and 3,) apply to all oath-bound secret 
 societies, and we regard both the taking and administering of 
 Buch oaths, a very henious sin. 
 
 4. These oaths place the members under unlawful penalties, 
 and bind the members to help to execute these penalties, which is 
 a crime, both against the state and the conscience of the members. 
 And these penalties are no dead letter upon the Masonic statute 
 book. Rev. Moses Thatcher, a seceding Mason, says that he has 
 "reliable, historical evidence of not less than semen individvals raw 
 dered under Masonic law." — [See Finney on Masonry, p. 121.] 
 
 5. To swear to keep the secrets of other men, and to protect 
 them from punishment, whether they be right or wrong, is a 
 crime against the state and the conscience of the individual. 
 
 6. To agree to be bound by any part of an oath that may b» 
 omitted, and consequently unknown, is putting the conscience 
 into a snare. 
 
 n. Our second objection to masonry is that it sdbvbrts 
 
 JTTSTICB. 
 
 The Masonic fraternity is a society of men composing part of 
 community, leagued together for the purpose of helping each 
 other secretly. A great ring in sociETTi It is therefore, in its 
 very nature, opposed to justice. This remark applies with equal 
 force to secret societies in general. 
 
 Every person who has anything to do with politics or with bus' 
 iness; every person who was in the army, every student of the 
 university, every person who has not lived with his eyes shut; 
 has seen, that when a member of a secret society has the ap- 
 pointing power he will always appoint a member of his own fra- 
 ternity in preference to any other, without reference to merit, if 
 he can do so without compromising himself. They are, there- 
 fore, of necessity, "partial men" in community. This partiality 
 is felt by community, especially in the trial of violators of law. 
 
 Masonry swears its members to keep the secrets of each other, 
 and to fly to the relief of a brother, and to extricate him from 
 difficulty, whether he be right or wrong. Experience proves that 
 they regard these oaths as paramount to their civil oaths. I 
 quote from John Quincy Adams' letter regarding the Morgan 
 trial: "Look at the government of New York, stniggling in vain 
 for five long years to bring the perpetrators of the murder to pun- 
 ishment. See the judges, sheriffsj witnesses, jurors, entangled m 
 
5 
 
 fhe net of MaBonry, and justice prostrated in lier own temple by 
 the touch of lier invisible hand." * * "Go to the records of the 
 «uurt; you will find witnesses refusing to testify upon the express 
 ground of Masonic obligations, avowing that they considered 
 those obligations paramount to the law of the land.!' 
 
 III. OUB THIBD OBJECTION TO UASOKBT IS ITS FALSE PBBTEN- 
 BBS. 
 
 Masonry may indeed be regarded as falsehood reduced to a 
 system. 
 
 Its long list of false pretenses and the falsehoods which it puts 
 into the mouths and ears of its members for the purpose . of de> 
 ceiving them, and the world through them, show from what paren- 
 entage it has sprung; 
 
 1. Masonry claims to be an ancient institution, which it is not. 
 Svery intelligent Mason who has made any inquiry on the subject, 
 knows that Speculative or Freemasonry, was organized in Lon. 
 dpn in the year 1717, and all Masonry which existed before that 
 time was practical stone masonry, with which Freemasonry has 
 110 similarity whatever. 
 
 2. Masonry teaches its members that Solomon was its first, 
 Sipst Excellent Orand Master, and that St. John was one of its 
 zealous patrons. (See Mackey's Manual, p. 55.) All of which 
 i^ a falsehood and an impious slander ou the characters of pious 
 men. (This can be proven by Masonic authority, quoted in 
 "Finney on Masonry," pp. 171-2 as follows: 
 
 Dr. Dalcho, the compiler of the book of constitutions for 
 South Carolina, says : ^'Neither Adam nor Noah, nor Nimrod, nor 
 Moses, nor JoshvM, nor David, nor Solomon, nor Hiram, nor St. 
 4^ohn the Baptist, nor St. John the Evangelist, were Freemasons. 
 Hypothesis in history is ahsurd. There is no record sacred or pro- 
 fane, to induce us to belieoe that those holy men were Freemasons; 
 mid our traditions do not go back to those days. To assert that 
 they were Freemasons may make the tmlgwr stare, hut will rath&r 
 tofiite the contempt than the admiration of the wise." 
 
 8). Masonry pretends to reveal important truths, and to im. 
 part valuable instruction to its members, and induces its mem- 
 bers to go on from degree to degree, by promising them "more 
 light." But hundreds of seceding Masons testify that there is 
 no important truth taught in its whole course, and that at every 
 advancing step they were humbugged and disappointed. 
 
 4. Masonry pretends that its secrets never have been, and 
 never can be revealed. 
 
 Let me here say concerning this book called "Light on Ma^ 
 seiury," which I hold in my hand, and from which most of these 
 
6 
 
 quotations hare been made, that it was written by Elder David 
 Bernard, a minister who has been in good standing in the Bap- 
 tist church for fifty years,— a man of sincere piety and known 
 integrity. He had taken fifteen degrees in Masonry at the time 
 of the Morgan murder, and being convinced that it was wrong, 
 and that it was his duly to make known its secrets, wrote the 
 first fifteen degrees, and presented his exposition to a conven. 
 tion of about forty seceding Masons, and it was by them ap. 
 proved. A committee was then appointed to write an exposi, 
 tion of the other seventeen degrees, for Bernard's book ; and 
 that committee having completed its work, presented their ex 
 position to a convention of about one hundred seceding Ma 
 sons, and it was by them approved as a verbatim et literatim 
 exposition of thirty-two degrees of Masonry. Mr. Bernard is 
 still living, and at a convention held in Syracuse, New York, 
 last year, asserted that he was now over eighty, and had not 
 many years to live, and desiredto give his dying testimony ti 
 the iTUth of that exposition. 
 
 Here is Morgan's revelation, which I hold in my hand; and 
 the best evidence that I can produce of the truthfulness of thft 
 exposition, is the fact that he was murdered by Masons for ri 
 vealing their secrets. 
 
 Here is Finney on Masonry, written by Rev. C. 6. Finney, D 
 D., President of Oberlin College, who took three degrees of Ma 
 sonry, and then left because he was convinced of its unchristian 
 character. 
 
 Here is Mackey's Manual, written by Albert G. Mackey, M 
 D., "Past General High Priest of the General Grand Chapter of 
 the United States." I purchased it because it is said to be.thb 
 highest' Masonic authority that I could get; and I see, by com 
 parison, that its ceremonies exactly agree with Bernard, Mor. 
 gan and Finney, as far as he dares to make those ceremoniek 
 public. 
 
 (It has been frequently asserted since the above was spoken, 
 that these were perjured men, and that their testimony would 
 not be taken in any court. But if they are perjured men, theq 
 they have told the truth in their exposition ; and as to their testi* 
 mony not being taken in court, I know of a case of two men 
 who committed murder. One of them, after being incarcerated, 
 confessed the whole affair, but being a felon, his testimony 
 could not be taken in court against the other, .and the other 
 man was consequently acquitted, and the one who confessed 
 was hung; but everybody believed the testimony of the felon all 
 the same as if it had been taken in court. Now, when consck 
 
entious men flad thejnselves ensnared by a wicked oath, and 
 forbidden to tell the truth, and from love of the truth renounce 
 that enslaving oath, as it is every man's duty to do, and come 
 out and publish the truth, and that too in the face of the most 
 cruel and persistent persecution, such men ought to be regarded 
 as moral heroes and champions of truth, and will be believed 
 by all the unbiased world, notwithstanding that sophistical 
 quibble.) 
 
 John Quincy Adams asserts in his letters, that about 45,000 
 out of about 50,000 Masons, left the order at the time of the 
 Morgan excitement, and none of all these 45,000 seceding Ma- 
 sons ever denied the truth of the expositions made by Morgan 
 and Bernard. In the face, therefore, of all this testimony, I 
 wonder that the face of a Christian Mason does not blush when 
 he hears his officers assert that the secrets of Masonry have 
 never been revealed. 
 
 5. Masonry pretends to be a benevolent order. According to 
 Mackey's Manual p. 317, it excludes all old men in dotage ; 
 young men in nonage ; all women and deformed persons. (See 
 Finney, p. 186.) Mackey's Manual further declares, (p. 227,) 
 that the Wardens "shall consider of the most prudent and effect- 
 ual methods of collecting and disposing of what money shall be 
 given to, or lodged with them in charity, toward the relief only 
 of any true brother fallen into poverty or decay, but of none 
 else." 
 
 Now, when a company of strong, able-bodied prosperous men 
 club together, excluding the poor, the weak, and all women, 
 and promise to help each other and none else. Would you call 
 it benevolence ? 
 
 (This remark applies with equal force to the order of Odd- 
 fellowship. The language of its ritual is, if any different more 
 exclusive than that of Masonry.) I believe it is true that some 
 Masonic lodges do give assistance to persons outside of their 
 order, but I call your attention to the fact that they never learned 
 to do so by the teaching of Masonry, and if such things are ever 
 done, it is because the spirit of Christianity predominates over 
 Masonry, in such lodges. 
 
 The fact that Masonry is growing wealthy out of the monthly 
 dues of its members, that it is building costly edifices, and fur- 
 nishing them with magnificent furniture, that its ofiScera are 
 equipped with the most expensive regalia, and are treated to the 
 moat sumptuous feasts, and that the magnificent Masonic Tem- 
 ple that was dedicated in Philadelphia last June, cost $1,475,- 
 000, proves that the largest share' of their contributions are ap- 
 
8 
 
 propriated to the auppbrt of the "dignity of the order," rather 
 
 than to the cause of benevolence. 
 
 6. It pretends to be a charitable institution. Our Saviour 
 teaches the true principles of charity in the fifth chapter of 
 Matthew: "Love your enemies, do good to them that despite- 
 fully use you and persecute you, &c." 
 
 We have also a beautiful definition of charity in the 13th 
 chapter of 1 Corinthians. "Charity suffereth long and is kind, 
 charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, &o." But what does 
 Masonry teach? The oath of the Thrice Illustrious order of 
 the cross contains these words : [Light on Masonry, p. 199.] 
 
 "You further swear, that should you know another to violate 
 any of the essential points of this obligation, you will use your 
 most decided endeavors, by the blessing of God, to bring such 
 persons to the most condign punishment, agreeable to the rules 
 and usuages of our ancient fraternity, and this by pointing him 
 out to the world as an unworthy vagabond, by opposing his in- 
 terests and deranging his business by transferring his name 
 after him wherever he may go ; by erposing him to the con- 
 tempt of the whole fraternity, and of the world, during his 
 whole natural life," &c. Hundreds of men who have come out 
 from the order bear testimony that they have received just such 
 persecutions as that. The whole Anti-masonic world knows by 
 sad experience that the spirit of the institution is a spirit of 
 malice towards all who dare to oppose it, and yet it stands be- 
 fore the world with brazen face, and vaunteth itself, boasting of 
 its charity. 
 
 7. It pretends to be a moral institution. We claim that this 
 pretense can be shown to be false under five counts. 
 
 (a). We have just now shown that it inculcates a spirit of 
 malice toward its enemies, (b.) It teaches selfishness and an 
 unscriptural system of benevolence in opposition to the teaching 
 of Christ, which is " Do good unto all men, especially unto them 
 that are of the household of faith." (c.) It inculcates falsehood 
 by requiring its members to declare in their application for 
 membership that they do not apply from any " mercenary mo- 
 tives." By putting into their mouths and requiring them to 
 repeat all these false legends concerning Solomon and Hiram 
 Abiff, and by placing its members, by solemn oath, in such a 
 position that they are under the necessity of practicing habitual 
 deception in order to conceal the secrets of the order. We may 
 illustrate this last statement in this way; 
 
 Suppose I say to a Master Mason, Is this in substance the oath 
 of a Master Mason f (reading it to him,) a question I have a right' 
 
to ask. He will be placed in such a position that if he denies 
 that it is, he tells a falsehood ; if he admits it, he violates his 
 oath ; if he evades the question so skilfully as to deceive me, in 
 so far as he deceives me he is guilty of deception, and in so far 
 as he does not deceive me, he has revealed the secret and violat- 
 ed his oath, and this constant effort of the society to publish 
 false pretenses and conceal facts, places its members under the 
 necessity of practicing habitual deception, (d.) It teaches 
 obscenity. The manner in which Masonry administers its oaths, 
 at 'east in the flist degrees, is so obscene that I cannot describe 
 it liere, and the explanation given by Mackey in his Manual of 
 one of the symbols of Masonry if written here would be liable 
 to be suppressed as obscene literature. [See Mackey's Manual, 
 pp. 56 and 67.] [See also Mackey's Lexicon, pp. 416 and 4 17.] 
 (e.) It practices idolatry and profanity. It worships the " Bible, 
 compass and square ;" it administers its oaths and applies titles 
 to fallible men which belong only to Q-od, and thereby worships 
 man and profanes God's holy name. The difference between 
 the profanity of the troops out on the plains and that of Masonry 
 Is, that one is reckless and impulsive, while the other is delibe- 
 rate and systematic. 
 
 We have now enumerated what we regard as the minor objec- 
 tions to. Masonry, and we will proceed to lay before you that 
 objection which we regard as of greatest importance to the 
 Christian church. We do not, indeed, expect the following 
 argument to have much weight with Jews or deists, or irrelig- 
 ious persons, but it is a matter that ought to have great weight 
 in t3ie mind of every Christian man. 
 
 IV. Our fourth objection is, that masonry is a religion — 
 
 AN ANTI-CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 
 
 That Masonry is a religion is evident from the fact that it 
 claims for itself every thing that any religion has ever claimed, 
 and more than the Christian church claims. 
 
 1. It claims to be divine. In the hymn used at the dedication 
 of lodges, we find these words: (Mackey's Manual, p. 186.) 
 '■Hail Masonry divine, 
 "Glory of ages shine." 
 • * « 
 
 " Thou art divine." 
 In the hymn used at the laying of a corner-stone, [Mackey's 
 Manuel, p. 180,] we find these words: 
 
 " When earth's foundations first were laid. 
 
 By the Almighty Artist's hand, 
 
 'Twas then our perfect — our perfect laws were made, 
 
10 
 
 Established by thy strict command." 
 
 2. It claims perpetuity. The following question is asked tht 
 candidate, which he is expected to answer in the afiBrmative : 
 (Mackey's Manual, p. 149,) "Do you admit that it is not in the 
 power of any man, or body of men, to make innovations in the 
 body of Masonry?" 
 
 8. It claims that members are God's chosen people. [Mack, 
 ey's Manual, p. 196.] " For they be thy people, and thine inher. 
 itance, for thou didst separate them from among all people of 
 the earth, to be thine inheritance." The Master, in his address 
 to the lodge, calls all outsiders "The profane world," "cow- 
 ans," (dogs). Of course he includes his own wife, and the 
 pastor of his own church, if he is not a Mason. Mackey says 
 that all lodges should open with prayer, and gives as a reason 
 that secular associations open with prayer, and it is more proper 
 that " religious associations " should observe the custom. [Man- 
 ual, p. 11.] When a member joins the association, he is said, in 
 the language of the Manual, " to consecrate his life to the service 
 of God." 
 
 According to Mackey's Manual, the lodge is " always opened 
 in the name of God." 
 
 4. It claims that its lodge rooms and temples are temples of 
 God. According to their manuals, their temples are always 
 "dedicated to the service of God." 
 
 At the dedication of the Grand Masonic Temple in Philadel- 
 phia, on the 28th of last June, the Rev. John Chambers, D. D., 
 made the dedication prayer, and used these words, taken from 
 the manual, "We have assembled" ■ • "to dedicate this 
 magnificent Masonic temple to the glory and honor of the one 
 living and eternal Jehovah." The cxxii. Psalm was then sung — 
 "I was glad when they said unto me, let us go up into the house 
 of the Lord," &c. The old heathen rite of pouring on corn, 
 wine and oil, was then performed, and the following words 
 used, which by comparison, we see were taken from this man. 
 ual : (Mackey's, p. 194,) "In the name of the Supreme and 
 Eternal God, the Grand Architect of Heaven and Earth, to whom 
 be all glory and honor, I dedicate this Hall to Freemasonry." 
 
 6. It claims that its officers are holt. 
 
 Andrew Rubeno, in his address at Philadelphia, giving a 
 charge to the High Priest of the Chapter, used these words : — 
 "Let the High Priest of every Chapter, upon whom the holt 
 order has been conferred, remember that he has been made such, 
 not after the law of a carnal commandment, but after the power 
 of an endless life, for he testifieth, "Thou art a priest forever 
 
It 
 
 after the order of Melchesidec." 
 
 How a Christian man could stand by with the insignia of his 
 order upon him, and listen to such blasphemy from one of his 
 own officers, I do not know. 
 
 6. It claims to be a saving religion. 
 
 In the language of Masonry, it takes tlie rough ashler, cuts, 
 hews and polishes him, and prepares him to be built into the 
 grand temple above. In their ceremonies they put the candi- 
 date sjrmbolically through the whole course of salvation, — the 
 new birth, the enlightenment, sanctification, death, resurrection 
 and ascension to glory. 
 
 Salem Town, a celebrated Masonic author, in his book, says : 
 [Bee Finney, p. 20.] "In advancing to the fourth degree, the 
 good man is greatly encouraged to persevere in the ways of well 
 doing, even to the end. He has a name which no man knoweth, 
 save he that receiveth it. Then the Freemason is assured of his 
 election and final salvation." • • "Hence opens the fifth 
 degree, where he discovers his election to, and his glorified sta- 
 tion in the kingdom of the Father." ■ • " Then in the eighth 
 degree he beholds that all the heavenly sojourners will be ad- 
 mitted within the veil of God's presence, where they will become 
 kings and priests before the throne of his glory forever and 
 ever." 
 
 In the degree of the Knights of the East and West the candi- 
 date is conducted to the "Vacant Canopy," which is at the right 
 hand of " The All Puissant, who represents Jehovah," (the pre- 
 siding officer.) The sound of the seventh seal, and the conduct- 
 ing of the candidate to the "vacant canopy," is the representa- 
 tion of the end of the world, and the glorification of all tbot: 
 UASONS at the right hand of God, having passed through the 
 trials of Freemasonry, and " washed their robes in their own 
 blood." 
 
 7. It has its priests, altars, sacrifices, libation, symbols, rites, 
 ceremonies, prayers, hymns, sermons, benedictions and its hopes 
 and promises of future salvation and glory. It has everything 
 that any religion has ever had, Jewish, Mohammedan, Hindoo, 
 Mormon or Christian, except truth. 
 
 8. It claims more than the Christian church ever claimed, for 
 it claims to be the one only true and eternal religion which 
 "embraces within itself all sectarian systems," such as Christi- 
 anity, Mohammedanism, &c. 
 
 The Christian church does not claim to do anything of itself, 
 but by the word and Spirit of Christ. But Masonry claims that by 
 its own inherent virtue without any external influence it can 
 
12 
 
 redeem, purify and glorify Its memberB, and thousands of its 
 members believe it to be al^l, >he religion that is necessary and 
 resting in it, are content without any other, and must inevitably 
 perish in their delusion. 
 
 Yes, Masonry claims to be a religion; Masonry is a religion; 
 let us now inquire what kind of a religion it is. 
 
 It is an Anti-Chkistian RELiaioif. 
 
 We are f^ly aware that in the orders of Knighthood there is 
 mention of Christ and Christianity, but with reference to this 
 we iiave three remarks : 
 
 1. That nine-tenths of its members probably never get so far 
 as the orders of the Knighthood or 9th degree, and therefore if] 
 it embraced pure Christianity, nine-tenths of its members would 
 die without Christ. 
 
 8. Robert Morris, Grand Master and author of a code, of 
 laws, says: "The orders of the Knighthood compose no part 
 of the system of Masonry." This is no doubt true, and we are 
 glad to say that much in its favor in view of what follows. 
 
 3. That the orders of the Knighthood have introduced Chris- 
 tianity in order to make a blasphemous mockery of the sacred 
 rites of the New Testament as the other orders do of the Old,, 
 I use the word blcupTiemoua advisedly, as it is the only word that 
 expresses the truth. According to Webster it means " impious- 
 ly irreverent." 
 
 I will give a few examples of this impiously irreverent use of; 
 the sacred rites of the Old and New Testaments, as evidence of; 
 the anti-Christian character of Masonry. In the Boyal Arch, 
 degree the candidate represents Moses at the burning bush. He 
 looks .before him and sees the burning bush (a pot of glowing 
 coals with a bush over it) apd he£|,rs a voice saying: "Put off. 
 thy shoes from oflf thy feet for the place whereon thou standest; 
 is Holy ground." He then takes qffhijs shoes and hears ayoipe 
 saying: "I am the QqdL of Abraham and the God of Isaac aud. 
 the God of Jacob." — [Light on Masonry, p. 155.] In the same 
 cerernony they represent the children of Israel after the return 
 from captivity searching and finding the Ark of the Covenant 
 in the debris of the fallen Temple, at Jerusalem. — They open it 
 and take out— 1st, the Pot of Manna; 2d, Aaron's Bod that 
 budded— (a jieach tree twig that some one had hid there) 3d, 
 the key to the ineflftable degrees of Masonry, [Light on Masonry, 
 p. I52J 
 
 In the Knight Templar degree the candidate is made to drink , 
 wine froni^ a human skull and say, "This, pure wineInow;ta\e, 
 in'tesiimony of niy "belief in the immortality of the soul and 
 
13 
 tKe mortaliiy of the body, • • • and as the sins of the 
 world were laid upon the head of the Savior, so may all the sins 
 of the person -whose skull this was, be laid upon my head in 
 addition to my own, should I knowingly or willingly violate 
 this my solemn obligation," &c. [Light on Masonry, p. 182.], 
 
 Is not this a blashhemous mockery of our holy communion? 
 
 In the Mark Maste 's degree the Master produces a stone and 
 advances toward the candidate reading Rev. ii. 7 : "To him that 
 overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will 
 give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, 
 which no man knoweth save him that receiveth it. [Light on 
 Masonry, p. 109.] 
 
 In the degree of Most Excellent Master they all kneel around 
 the room and take hands except the Grand Master, who reads aa 
 follows from the 24th Psalm : " Lift up your heads O ! ye gateS, 
 and be ye lifted up ye everlasting doors, that the King of Glory 
 may come in." Then they all rise up, open the ring and take 
 in the "King of Glory" in the person of the Most Excellent 
 Grand Master. Now we ask all candid persona what stronger 
 evidence could we have of the anti-Christian character of Ma^ 
 sonry than this blasphemous and profane use of the most sacred 
 rites of the Christian religion ? 
 
 But we propose to show that Masonry is anti-Christian froai 
 its own rites and authorites. The Bible requires as a conditioil 
 of salvation, belief in the Lord' Jesus Christ. It declares that 
 there is no other name given under heaven or among men 
 whereby we must be saved, but the name of Christ. It lays" 
 down as a condition of acceptance in prayer, that we ask all in- 
 the name of Christ. " Whatsoever yeshall ask in my name, b&- 
 lieving, ye shall receive." 
 
 It teaches tliat no man cometh unto the Father but by Christ: 
 It teaches that all men should honor the Son even as they honor 
 the Father. It teaches us to do all Christian work and works of 
 charity in the name of Christ, even to the giving of a " cup of 
 cold water." It declares that "he that is not with me is against 
 me." All religions therefore that teach any other way of salva- 
 tion, are anti-Christian. Now, Masonry, as we have seen, teaches • 
 its members that it is a saving religion; and it carefully excludes- 
 Christ from all its religious rites. 
 
 There are many prayers in this manual, and in other manuals, 
 but not in one of them is there a reference to Christ. Now, I' 
 freely admit that a person might inadvertently make a pray^er 
 without reference to Christ, whereas the mind might be Testing 
 on Christ and trusting in Mm. But in Masonry it is al-virkyS^- 
 
14 
 
 omitted, it is excluded, by the law of Masonry. I have indeed 
 heard it said that in some lodges composed almost or entirely of 
 Christians, extempore prayers are used in which the name of 
 Christ is mentioned. But it is contrary to the law of Masonry, 
 and when one member objects it must be omitted. 
 
 In the ceremony of admission to the Boyal Arch degree the 
 Master has occasion to read ad Thess. iii. 6-18, in which the 
 name of Christ occurs twice, and from which the passage 
 receives all its significance and authority, but that name ia 
 omitted in the quotation in the manual. Which proves that 
 they dare not put the name of Christ into any of their ritual. ^ 
 
 The Mystic Star, a monthly Masonic journal, published in 
 Chicago, speaking of an address delivered by Grand Orator 
 Kinding, of Iowa, after praising his ability as an orator, said; 
 "We regret, however, to notice a very exceptional expression in 
 Brother Kinding's address, we refer to the phrase 'Earth's 
 Creator and man's Redeemer, Jesus Christ.' This sentiment is 
 purely sectarian, and as such, at variance with Bro. Kinding's 
 usual good taste. It is reasonable to suppose that not a tithe of 
 those he addressed believed in that sentiment." 
 
 What is here said of Masonry is true also of Odd-fellowship 
 in a limited degrjee. It also has a ritual and many religious 
 rites. It has priests, altars, vestments, prayers, hymns and relig- 
 ious ceremonies, from all of which Christ is carefully excluded. 
 Grosh, in his Manual, p. 285, says : " The descendants of Abra- 
 ham, (Jews) the diverse followers of Jesus, the Pariahs (Hindoos) 
 of the stricter sects, here gather around the same altar as one 
 family, manifesting no difference of creed or worship, and dis- 
 cord and contention are forgotten in words of humanity and 
 peace ;" and explains this strong testimony by the fact that they 
 "leave their prejudices at the door of the lodge." Now I ask, 
 can any Christian go into an association where he cannot take 
 Christ with him — where he is compelled to leave that " secta- 
 rian prejudice " " at the door," without denying the Son of God ? 
 
 Mackey, in his Lexicon, p. 404, says : " "The religion then of 
 Masonry is pure Theism, on which its members engraft their 
 own peculiar opinions, but they are not permitted to introduce 
 them into the lodge, or to connect their truth OTfalaehood with 
 the TETJTH of Masonry." But we need not the admission of Mr. 
 Mackey to prove that Masonry is pure Theism, for a religion 
 that excludes Christ and combines and harmonizes all the relig- 
 ions of the world can be nothing else. 
 
 Jiut, says the Mason, the Bible is one of our symbols— one ot 
 the three great Lights of Masonry; but we ask, What are the 
 
15 
 
 others? Why, " the Compass and the Sctuare." So the Bible is 
 placed on the same level with the compass and the square, and 
 has the same authority. Chase, in his Digest of Masonic Laws, 
 1864, p. 206, says : " To require a candidate to profess his belief 
 in the divine authenticity of the Bible," or " a state of future 
 rewards and punishments, is a serious innovation in the very 
 body of Masonry." This we know must be true, because Arabs 
 and Mormons are Masons, but they would die before they would 
 recognize the Bible. Therefore Chase in his Digest, p. 308, 
 speaking on this subject, says : " Masonry has nothing whatever 
 to do with the Bible. It is not founded on the Bible. If it was 
 it would not be Masonry, it would be something else." 
 
 Let me say concerning that branch of Masonry that does 
 accept the Bible as one of its three great lights, that it takes 
 Christ out of the Bible before it takes it into the lodge. And 
 when you take Christ out of the Bible you take the soul out of 
 it and leave only a lifeless corpse. . Christ made man and placed 
 him in Eden ; Christ led Israel through the wilderness ; Christ 
 gave the Law upon Mount Binai ; Christ gave us the Bible, and 
 both the Old and New Testament testify of him. But Christ, 
 the author of the Bible, the giver of the Bible, must stay outside 
 of the lodge — "tiled" out among the "cowans" and "the 
 profane world," — while the words of Christ, with hie name omitted, 
 may be carried into the lodges, as of authority equal to that of 
 the compass and square. 
 
 In view of these facts, I ask every candid man to answer for 
 himself, Is not Masonry a Christ-denying, Christ-rejecting relig. 
 ion ? Does not every one that goes into the lodge turn his back 
 upon the Son of God ? "He that is not with me is against me." 
 
 Oh, my Christian brethren I if there be any among you to-day 
 who have become identified with Masonry, let me ask you in 
 all kindness. How can you stand up in the Temple of Christ to 
 profess his name, and consecrate yourselves to his service on 
 the Sabbath day, and then go into the temple of anti-Christ, 
 where you dare not mention his name, on Tuesday? 
 
 If there be an adhering Mason under the sound of my voice ; 
 If there be one who expects to join that society, I warn you in 
 the name of the Lord Jesus Christ of your danger. I pray God 
 he may not lay this sin to your charge, and that is all that I can 
 do. And on that day when we shall all stand before the judg- 
 ment seat of God, your blood will not be required at my hands. 
 
 Concerning the duty of the Christian church in this matter 
 we would simply say that no Christian church will receive a 
 Mohammedan into its membership. Why? Because he is a 
 
J6 
 
 belieTar ^iijt. a^ClwiBtless j-eljgion. ^p 'p]aiiBii<ax cluwcK'KQ^d 
 receive a" partioipatiiig member Jjf tfcP Jewisli church into mejp- 
 hership! Why ? Because he is a member of a Clirisl^denyjng 
 Church. But Masonjy is just as distinctly a Christless and 
 Christ-denying religion as either the Jewish or Mohammedan 
 church. According to its own best authorities, it is a religiop 
 of " Pure Theism," 
 
 Sow can a man be a professor of a religion that is "Pure 
 TTieism," and be a consistent member of a Christian church f 
 How can a man be a member of a Christ- denying religiouii 
 association, and be a consistent member of a Christian church I 
 6ow can a church, which lays down as its corner-stone that 
 Stone .which these builders reject, which lays down as its fijn- 
 damental principal, belief in, and profession of Christ— that 
 Christ which Masonry rejects, receive a member of the Mai8oni« 
 fraternity to its communion f 
 
ON 
 
 !E©RETISM< 
 
 BY 
 
 REV. R. THEO. CROSS, 
 
 Delivered in the Congregational 
 
 Church, Hamilton, N. Y., 
 
 Sabbath. May., 30th, 1875. 
 
 Published by request. 
 
 CHICAGO, ILLINOIS: 
 
 EZRA A. COOK, PUBLISHER. 
 
Secretism, Unorganized and Organized. 
 
 [A Sermon Preached by Bev. B. T. Croee, May 80, 18T6, in the Congre- 
 gational Uhorch, Hamilton, N. T. Published by reqneet.] 
 
 "And this is the condemnation that light is come into the 
 world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because 
 their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth 
 the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that 
 doeth truth cometh to the light that his deeds may be made 
 manifest tliat they are wrought in 6od." John, iii: 19-21, 
 
 The word "secretism" is not found in Webster. It has recent- 
 ly been brought into prominent use, if not into existence, by 
 the opponents of secret orders to express what they believe to 
 be a perverted secrecy, especially in its tendency to organiza- 
 tion. Secretism is always wrone; secrecy is not always wrong. 
 AH secretism is secrecy, but not all secrecy is secretism— just 
 as all murder is killing bat not all killing is murder. Secret- 
 ism is the opposite extreme to gossip and talebearing. The 
 golden mean lies between the two. The goasiper and tale- 
 bearer tells those things vhich ought not to be known, or which 
 if known will do no good ; the secretist refuses to tell those 
 things which ought to be.known by others, or which, if known, 
 will do no harm. Secretism is the opposite of that cordial, 
 free, open-hearted frankness which ought to exist between us 
 and our fellow men. 
 
 Secrecy is sometimes right. We all ought to be cautious 
 about what we say to others. I do not expect a member of my 
 family to go and tell everybody he meets everything that is 
 said and doi*e in the family. But my family would not be an 
 acceptable and agreeable faniUy in the neighborhood if all itfc 
 members were everlastingly silent about family affairs, and it 
 would be a natural object of suspicion if all its members were 
 known to be under oath not to tell any thing about its aflfairs. 
 It is not necessary or prudent to tell everybody all about our 
 business aflfairs, yet men naturally suspect those who never 
 tell anything about their business. Doctors are not expected 
 to tell everybody what ails everybody else. Ministers are 
 obliged to listen to a great deal about the faults .and sins of 
 others, but there would soon be trouble in the church and 
 community if they told to others all that they heard about oth- 
 ers. In times of war there must, for the tim.e being, be some 
 secrecy about the movement of armies. But in all these cases 
 the secrecy concerns something which others have no right to 
 know, or which will do no good, or from which harm will 
 come if known. Sometimes it is right for us to promise, not 
 to take an oath, not to say : "I hope to drop dead," or any 
 such thing, but simply to promise on our honor to keep a secret 
 
a longer or shorter time, though it is not right to make such & 
 promise beforehand unless we know what the nature ot the secret 
 is. On the other hand, secrecy becomes secretism when it 
 concerns things that ought to be known by others, the knowing 
 of which will do good or prevent evil ; also when it concerns 
 things which it is natural for men to inquire about and know, 
 according to that frank confidence which should prevail among 
 men and that interest which they naturally and rightly take in one 
 another's affairs. We all like frankness when it goes with a 
 good-natured kindness, and we all dislike the opposite. Why 
 should any person, man or woman, be aozious to conceal his 
 age, unless, for some purpose or other, he wishes to to deceive 
 others in the matter? Why should men be so anxious to con- 
 ceal the amount of their property or the profits of their busi- 
 ness? We can easily see what the reason is when men are liv- 
 ing far beyond their means and wish to give the impression that 
 they are worth much more than they are, or when tbey are liv- 
 ing far below their means and wish to make people believe 
 that they are worth much less than they are, or when they have 
 made or are making their money in a way which will not stand 
 the test of exposure. But a man who has no such bad motive 
 ought not to be so secret about his property. When a natural 
 ana proper curiosity about such things is not gratified there is 
 sure to be suspicion and exaggeration. 
 
 If I make a discovery that is going to benefit humanity I 
 have no right to keep it secret. If any secret society hag, as 
 we all know that they have not, any knowledge not possessed 
 by the world at large, or any principles beneficial to humanity, 
 they have no right to be so secret with them and withhold, 
 them from the very persons who most need them. So we ought 
 not to keep secret any evil or wrong-doing or sin that ou^ht to 
 be known, the knowing of which is necessary to the highest 
 welfare of the family, the community, the school or the State. 
 And yet these are the very things that secretism tries to hide 
 by throwing around them its veil of darkness. Men love dark- 
 ness wlieneuer their deeds are evil. The thief, the burglar, the 
 seducer, the murderer, the counierfeitfir, the traitor, is neiiessa- 
 rily a secretist, and so is he who shares the secrets of a lav- 
 breaker. 
 
 If I know that a person is going to commit a crime against 
 you to-night, or that he did commit one against you last ni^ht 
 it is my duty and no possible obligation can make it otherwise, 
 to let you and the officers of the law know it, that you may 
 be on your guard, and that, for the sake of the public good, the 
 offender may be brought to justice. All admit thetruth ol this 
 as applied to murder, burglary, and such things. Why should 
 not the same principle apply in lesser offenses? There is a 
 common feeling among students that it is dishonorable to re- 
 port to the proper authorities the misdeeds of their fellow stu- 
 Uents. It t« dishonorable when it is done simply for the sake 
 of cu-rying favor with the Authorities, or for thesakeof getting 
 their fellow students into troubli?. But when it is done for the 
 
eommon goodot the school, then it is right and duty. If I see a 
 fellow student trampling under foot a law the observance ot 
 which is necessary for the good of the school, a proper regard 
 for the common good, which includes my own good, makes it 
 my duty to let the proper authorities know of it. In an expe- 
 rience of several years as a teacher, with manjr hundred young 
 men, I have invariably found that the most faithful, law-abid- 
 ing, diligent. Christian youn^ men were the ones most rpady 
 to let me know of any wrong^doing that was endangering the 
 the welfare of the school ; while the most reckless, law-break- 
 ing young men, who seemed to have not a particle of true 
 honor, were the ones who had most to say about its being dis- 
 honorable to inform the teacher of wrong doing. And the 
 same is true of those who break the laws of the State. 
 
 There rre, it seems to me, two causes for secretism. One is a 
 desire to cover up evil. "Bury one that doeth evil hateth the 
 Jight,\i&t his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth 
 truth Cometh to the light that his deeds may be made manifest." 
 The presumption is against those who cover up their doings 
 from their fellow men, and it rests upon them to prove that they 
 have good reason for their secrecy. The other cause of secret- 
 ism is the charm theire is in it tc hvmum nature; and this cause 
 accounts for those cases where persons use secretism without 
 an evil object in view. Somehow there is a charm to poor 
 human nature in knowing, or making believe that we know, 
 something which others do not, even though it be a thing of no 
 earthly consequence. You have all heard little children say, 
 with an air of very conacioui: superiority and importance, "I 
 know something that you don't " Men and women are only 
 children of a larger growth, and how often we see them acting, 
 if not saying, "I know something that you don't." 
 
 But thus far I have been speaking of unorganized secretism, 
 secretism as it lies around loose in individuals. I shall be 
 touching only the hem of the earment of my subject if I make 
 no mention of organized secretism, which I believe to be far 
 more dangerous to society and religion than unorganized se- 
 cretism, just as any evil is more dangerous when organized, 
 when those who practice it are banded together for its support. 
 I have studied the subject and opposed the evil too long, young 
 as I am, not to know what it is that I am opposing and what 
 risk I run' It brings me into opposition to the views and 
 practices of some of my Christian friends, an opposition which 
 endangers, though it need not destroy, Christian fellowship ; 
 while I run the risk of being assailed by others with a kind of 
 argument, or want of argument, to which one cannot well re- 
 ply, because it comes from the dark and goes back to the datk. 
 But I oppose this evil because, after much thought and study 
 and prayer, I have come to believe very strongly that organ- 
 ized secretism is one of the great enemies and obstacles to our 
 Republican form of governmen' anO the pure Gospel of Christ. 
 
 TVj find then in our country a large number of secret brgan- 
 iaatious; hardly a village witiiiout one or more of them. 'They 
 
differ widely in their objects, their organization and their mem- 
 hership. ' They are of all grstdations of secrecy, from the Good 
 Templars ' and Grangers, whose avowed objects are good, and 
 which are perhaps the least objectionable of any, up, or rather 
 down, throneh college fraternities. Odd-fellowship, Freemason, 
 ry, "White League, Ku-Klux Klans and Jesuitism. And yet, 
 diverse as they are, secrelism is the chain that runs through 
 them all and binds them all together. Their initiations, their 
 obligations, their methods of recognition, are kept secret from 
 all outsiders. And yet these things have been substantially re- 
 vealed of every such society of any size or importance. The 
 member of such a society who denies this is either very igno- 
 rant or else he falsifies. For, aside from the undeniable foots 
 of the revelation, it is impossible, human nature being what it 
 is, for nien to form a secret society of widespread membership 
 without taking in solne person who, for good or for bad rea- 
 sons, will reveal its secrets. 
 
 I do not say that a secret organization is never necessary, nor 
 do I assert that it is. Iii very despotic and tyrannical govern- 
 ments, in times of persecution, or among slaves, a temporary 
 secret organization, lasting only while the necessity lasts, may 
 be useful, ^ut I do say that in free governments, especially in 
 a Republican government, secret societies are not only unnec- 
 essary but posilively harmful. And I propose to give some of 
 the reasons that lead me t£) this conclusion : 
 
 1. TJuy give organited forta to secretieni, a bad principle tf 
 human nature. They are based on it; it is their characteristic. 
 The evils and evil tendencies of secretism are bad enough when 
 unorganised; they are still worse when it is given 'a distinct 
 form and organization. 
 
 2. TTie Bible argument. A Christian cannot carefully study 
 the words which I have taken for a text and then feel that it is 
 according to the letter or the spirit of those words for him to join a 
 secret society. Before the Christian joins' such an orde^ he 
 should read those words of ' Chtist over and over again on his 
 knees. And let him also read Such passages as the following 
 if he would know whether joining a sedret'order is in accord- 
 ance with the spirit of the Book which he has promised to take 
 as the man of his counsel : "O, my soul, come not thou into 
 their secret; unto their assembly, mine honor; be not thou 
 iinited " "I spake openly to the world, and in secret have I 
 said nothing." "I have not spoken in secret, in a dark place of 
 the earth." "God shall bring into judgment every secret 
 thing."' "Have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of dark- 
 ness, but rather reprove them. For it is a shame even'to speak 
 of those things which are done of them in secret." "They are 
 thosie that rebel against the light; they know not the ways 
 thereof, nor abide in the paths thereof. For the morning is to 
 them even as the shadow of death ;' if ond know them they are 
 in the tenors of the shadow &f death." "Hide me from the 
 secret counsel of the wicked, who whet their tongue like a 
 sword, and bend their bows to shoot their arrows, even bitter 
 
words, that they may shoot in secret at the perfect; suddenly 
 do they shoot at him and fear not. They encourage themselyes 
 in an evil matter; they commune of layiug snares privily,; 
 they say, 'Who shall see themf" "Wherefore if they 3hall 
 say unto you, 'Behold he is in the secret chamber,' believe it 
 not." "F(ir there is nothing covered that shall not be revealed, 
 neither hid that shall not be known. Therefore whatsoever ye 
 have spoken in darkness shall be heard in the light ; and tha^ 
 which ye have spoken in the ear in closets shall be proclaimed 
 upon the house-tops." "Let your light so shine before men 
 that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father 
 which is in heaven." The application of most of these pas- 
 sages is of course to the principle of secretism. 
 
 a. My third reason is founded on the example of Okrist and 
 the experience of the church. Jesus Christ came into the world 
 to make men good and happy, to oppose all forms of sin, to 
 accomplish for mankind every good object professed by any or 
 all secret organizations. To carry on his work after his death 
 he established thu church, a society wn ch, , ke himself, does 
 not do things in a corner, but speaks openly to the world. 
 Now if permanent secret societies are necessary to accomplish 
 good objects, why did he not only fail to provide for them, or 
 for any thing that would naturally develope into them, but 
 also speak words directly opposed to the principle on which ' 
 they are based ; words which have led most of his disciples to 
 believe that they are at least inexpedient. The glorious light 
 which he brought into the world was to shine upon all. 
 The blessings of his kingdom are designed for all. , There is 
 no excluding, as there is in some secret orders of boasted be- 
 nevolence, of fronl one-half to nine-tenths of the human race. 
 The s'ave as well as the free, women as well as men, young 
 men in conage and old men in dotage, the cripple and the 
 poor, may al' eujpy the benefits of his Gospel. 
 
 And then, too, the church of Christ, which has had an expe- 
 rience now of near nineteen hundred years, has found, secret 
 societies unnecessary in carrying, out the will of its Divine . 
 Founder. It would'be the death knell of Christianity to turn , 
 it into a secret organization, or to rely on secret societies for 
 Its propagation. It has been tried once. Three hundred and thir- 
 ty-flve years ago Jesuitism was started! Its object was good, 
 to propagate the Christian religion ; its members were very de- 
 voted and self-denying — but, it- adopted the principle of secret 
 ism, and of necessity it became corrupt, given to intrigUcB, sus- 
 pected by governments. There is hardly a nation on ihe face 
 of the eartn that has not found it necessary in self-defense to 
 pass laws against it, to suppress it and to exile its members. 
 At one time the whole order throughout Christendom was sup- 
 pressed. 
 
 It has control of the Roman church to-day, and has recently 
 culminated in the Vatican decrees of infall'ibility. The very 
 word Jesuitism has come to be a synonym of all tha); is de- 
 ceptive and intriguing <n human nature. ^ 
 
4. My next argument is an a priori one. If no secret society 
 had ever been heard of In this community and a number of 
 persons should propose to shut themselves up in a room several 
 hours of one night every week and bind themselves with strong 
 oaths never to reveal but always to conceal what was done there, 
 the proposition would seem a monstrosity and would be taken 
 as an in&ult by the bettor class of the community. Indeed the 
 existence of such a society in any community is an insult to all 
 the good people outside of the society, for it is the same as 
 saying: "There are certain good objects which we cannot secure 
 if you know what we are doing." If these societies are seeking 
 bad objects then there is no more to be said. Of course they 
 ought not to exist. But for the sake of the argument I assume, 
 what of course I do not believe of all of them, that they have 
 good and worthy objects in view. Now imagine that secret 
 societies were an unheard of thing in this community and we 
 were met as neighbors and friends to consider the matter for 
 the first time. If we were all bad people, disposed to take 
 undue advantage of each other, then of course a secret society 
 would not be organized for any good purpose. If we were all 
 good people, disposed to do the fair and right thing with every- 
 body, then of course a secret society would be utterly useless 
 and unnecessary, as of course it will be in the millenium and in 
 heaven. But our community is neither all good nor all bad. 
 Like every other community it is mixed; some are good and 
 some are bad. A society composed mainly or entirely of bad 
 men will not, of course, promote or intend to jiromote any 
 good object. And of course it will be useless for good men 
 and bad men to unite in about equal numbers, so far as the 
 promotion of any good object is concerned. 
 
 The only remaining case then is for the good to unite against 
 the bad and use secrecy as a protection. It is here and only 
 here, if at all, that secret societies can justify their existence, 
 and their existence in this case can be justified only when it 
 can be shown that by means of them certain good and desira- 
 ble objects can be secured which could not be secured without 
 them, and then only as temporary expedients, not designed to 
 last through all time and all conditions of society. Such, as I 
 have intimated, may be the case in very despotic governments, 
 in times of persecution and among slaves. But is it so else- 
 where and at other times ? What good and desirable object 
 can be gained in such a community as this by means of a secret 
 society, which codld not be gained just as well or better in some 
 other way? If there is none, then secret societies ought not to 
 exist here. My fifth argument, then, is that 
 
 5. In such a community an this and in a free government no 
 good can be secured by a secret society which cannot be as well or 
 better secwed in somit othtr way. VVe have our freedom, going 
 and coming as we please; we have our civil rights ; the law 
 protects our property ; our lives are not in great danger except 
 in some parts of the country from secret orders; we are at 
 Ubeity to meet when and where we pleue to worship Ood aa 
 
we> please, with none to molest or make us afraid; we have 
 colleges, schools, books, papers, lyceums and other facilities in 
 abundance on every hand for acquiring knowledge and literary 
 culture. Sfcret societies are not needed to secure any of these 
 objects. These objects may sometimes be helped, but they are 
 more frequently hindered hy secret orders. They can be better 
 secured and maintained without them. Are they needed for 
 social culture ? Not in the least. Most of us find abundant 
 facilities for that in our meetings, our aid societies, social 
 
 fatherings, parties, neighborly calls, etc. They may and often 
 o, as those who know have testified, furnish facilities for a 
 false sociality, a sociality that tends to boisterous revelry and 
 dissipation. Dr. Crosby says he knows that this has often been 
 true in college secret societies. A very high Mason, editor of 
 Masonic paper, and a temperance man, told me that he had a 
 hard and long struggle in banishing liquor from his lodge 
 room. A Masonic paper recently told of a lodge in which akeg of 
 beer was kept open for constant use. Are they needed to promote 
 good morals ? "Bi/ their fruits wethall know them." No intelli- 
 gent person can affirm that their members as a rule are more 
 moral than others, or that these societies atcomplish any- 
 where near as much in promoting good morals as the church 
 of Christ. Surely not much can lie expected in this direction 
 of a society whose reason for requiring its members to be 
 temperate is that they may not get drunk and reveal its secrets, 
 and whose members are under no obligation, so far as their 
 obligation to the society is concerned, to respect the chastity of 
 any woman who is not a near relation of some member of the 
 order. 
 
 The least objectionable of the secret societies are the temper, 
 ance orders. Their object is good and they have done good. 
 They oppose the use of ale, weak wines, beer, etc., because of 
 the small per cent, of alcohol which they contain. So, while 
 recognizing the good that they do, we oppose these orders 
 because of the two, five or ten per cent, of seeretism which they 
 contain. The temperance cause is by no meaus dependent 
 upon them, and it is the belief and testimony of some of the 
 ablest and most reliable temperance men in the country that in 
 the long run they are no help to the cause, but a hindrance to it. 
 What they do can be done by open societies. One of the 
 strongest temperance communities in the land, a community 
 that can keep out saloons by the force of moral sentiment, 
 never had a secret temperance society, does not want or need 
 one. Can we not then do our whole duty toQ-od and man with- 
 out the aid of secret societies? If not, tell us what we can do 
 better with them than without them. 
 
 6. Bad ends can be better secwred hy secret societies than, 
 without them. This is shown by what 1 have already 
 said and by the passages quoted from the Bible. Since 
 every law-breaker and evil-doer seeks tlie cover of secrecy, 
 therefore organized secrecy will be a still further help to them. 
 I doat say that every- secret society is used- by bad men, but 
 
10 
 
 that organized secretism furnishes fftcilities for bao men to 
 carry out their purposes. It helps them in doing w/orig and 
 screens them from punishment. "Get into a scrape,' said a 
 member of a prominent secret society in this place, "and if you 
 belong to the lodge it will be a help to you." Bad men under- 
 stand this and are generally members of some such order. A 
 Christian man who belongs to a secret society in this place, 
 said to me ; "I am surprised at the characters they are taking- 
 into the lodge." In many places bad men rule the lodge. 
 Christian members confess and lament this, and in consequence 
 often stay away entirely. If a man is seeking an office_ for 
 which he is not fit ;' if he has an important suit at law ; if he 
 wishes to take an unfair advantage of another, or an advantage 
 that does not come according to the natural order of things ; if 
 he wishes to evade the law; if he wishes to secure undue favors 
 in business and in the common affairs of life, a siecret society is 
 just the thing for him, and it is for some such reasons as these 
 that multitudes join secret societies. 
 
 7. Secret societies foster a sly, underhanded way of doing 
 things. This is not always the result, for some rise above the 
 tendency, but it is necessarily the tmdeney. There is too much 
 of this tendency already in human nature. It needs to be 
 repressed rather than encouraged. Secret societies encourage: 
 it 
 
 8. They prodrice a clannish spirit. This is one of the evils of , 
 denomiuationalism. Even in the church, where men are 
 taught that all true Christians are brethren, where they are 
 told to love and do good to all mankind, there is too often a 
 clannish spirit. How much more then will this tendency man- 
 ifest j,tself in a secret society, whose members are under obliga- 
 tions to help one another only, and to help one another by 
 cutting acroHS the natural relations of life 1 The tendency to 
 clannishness is strohg enough already in human nature without 
 being encouraged any more, as it certainly is by secret societies. 
 
 9. They a/rouse umpicion. Those outside naturally suspect 
 that there is something wrong ; natwraUy, I say. It is human 
 nature. Notice the effect which it has upon one of three chil- 
 dren, playmates, when the other two go b; themselves and 
 have long talks which they keep a secret from the other. Ev- 
 en if the secret society and its members be perfectly innocent, 
 yet their secretism subjects them to suspicion, according to a 
 law of human nature that cannot be : ignored. It may be said 
 that it is none of the outsiders business, that he has no right to 
 be suspicious. I reply that he cannot help it. God has so consti- 
 tuted huipan nature that it cannot help suspecting wrong under 
 certain circumstances. If I should be seen going to a saloon, 
 or to the bar of a hotel early every morning, and stay a few 
 minutes, I should be suspected of going there for something to 
 drink, though I might be going for an entirely different 
 purpose and for a good purpose. I do not say that you, 
 who know my temperance principles, would say that I 
 vwt there for drink, but others would. So I do not say that 
 
11 
 
 yod, whose Christian character t know, join and continue a- 
 member of a secret society with a bad object in view, but 
 others who do not know your Christian character and who do 
 not pertiaps believe in "Christianity, will think so and say so. 
 The'Bible commands us to avoid not only evil but the appear- 
 ance of evil. Secretism has the appearance of evil, not to you 
 perhaps, but to those ' outside. Suppose you and I belong to a 
 secret order the members of which are commonly supposed to 
 stand by each other when they get into trouble, that fact being 
 held out as an inducement t6 join the order. A man has a law- 
 suit with ine; Jou are on the jury, and the case goes against him. 
 Now the secret order may have had nothing whatever to do with 
 the decispn, but he will certainly think that it did. I have no 
 doubt that secret societies do very frequently and spriousiy 
 interfere with the course of justice among men, but that is not 
 my point now. My argument is that whether> tliey do or not. 
 men cannot help suspecting them of it. They naturally and inm- 
 »to6Jy'fl!r(njs« site^jcjoTi, and that is an evil. " - 
 
 10. Secret satieties, some of them more than others of eourse, 
 interfere, (is just intimated,withjitstieein our courts and in time of 
 wa/r. The'ir members are favored in one way and another, 
 when by tlie natural and just course of things they would not 
 be. To many persons'this is an argument in their favor, and 
 it is the great reason why many persons join them. But of 
 course it. is an argument agaiast them to one who desires to see 
 justice done. If I had time I might give many instances prov- 
 ing the statement in this argument. The best members otsome 
 of the secret Societies admit, they halve admitted tO; me, that 
 there are maily bad' members in the orders. Now it is not in 
 human nature not to use ail the advantage which membership, 
 in such a society gives a man when he gets Into a scrape, be he, 
 right or wroiig. So we can show by a conclusive a priori argu- 
 ment that some, at least, of these orders mist interfere with 
 justice. ' ■ 
 
 11, The titles and the ceremonies of most secret societies are con- 
 trary to the simplicity of owr republicanform of government amd of 
 the pure Gospel of Christ. In idolatrous religions, iu the Roman 
 church and in monarchical countries a great deal is made of 
 titles and ceremonies. The ignorant masses are amused and 
 held in subjection by shows and pompous displays. High 
 priest, patriarch. Chiefs, grand dukes, nobles, lords, princes, 
 kings, emperors, are familiar terms to them. But our republican 
 simplicity abjures all these things both in name and in reality. . 
 The very constitution of our government forbids all these 
 titles. We call those placed over us by the simplest possible 
 titles, e. g., president, one who presides; minister, one who 
 serves. Now it is a remarkable fact that these secret orders use 
 titles appropriate only in monarchical and aristocratic govern- 
 ments. By familiarizing ' our people with these titles and with 
 the show and pomp and parade that go with them, these secret 
 orders are slowly, almost unconsciously, but surely undermining 
 the simplicity, the very foundatign of our republican forn^'of ■ 
 
goTtemment and preparing the way for that which _ they all 
 symbolize — amonmrehy. And how repulsive to thp simplicUv 
 of the Gospel of Cbrist, how contrary to the spirit of him who 
 said, "Learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heai t, " and_ who 
 commands us to call no man maatet, is it for Christians, ministera 
 even, to address each other and be addressed by such titles as 
 Master, Grand Master, Grand Worthy Chief, High Priest, Grand 
 High Priest, Captain of the Host, Excellent Grand Royal Arch 
 Captain, Right Reverend Grand Chaplain, Right Excellent 
 Grand King, Most Powerful Chief Prince, Thrice Illustrious 
 Grand Master, Most Puissant Grand Commander, etc., etc., nd 
 nauieam! 
 
 18. Another important objection to most of the secret orders 
 is tlMt they separate the sexes, and interfere with the family relation. 
 Boys and girls are educated together, young men and young 
 women ought to he, and the tendency is that way now. There 
 cau' be no true social culture when men alone or women alone 
 meet together. Butmost secret orders exclude women. If they 
 were admitted some secret societies would have to make a radi- 
 cal change in their method of initiation, for it is a shame even 
 to speak of some of the things done in secret by them. No man 
 has any right to spend fitty-two nights every year, or even one 
 night in flfty-two years, at a place and in a company where 
 what is ilone must be forever kept a secret from her between 
 whom and himself there should, be no permanent secret. And 
 no woman ought to be, no woman who has the right view of 
 the marriage state is satisfied with such a state of things. For 
 this reason if for no other, I never would j oin a society to which 
 I could not take my wife, my mother, my sister, or the doings at 
 which I must keep a secret from then). . 
 
 18. They are a waste of time and money. Most of the time is 
 constimed in going over forms and ceiemonies of no conse- 
 quence. They take time which ought to be spent at home or 
 in some more profitable place. Church members who never 
 find time to attend prayer or church meetings find no difficulty 
 in getting to the lodge almost every week. This is a sad tact but 
 it is true. Every Chiistian minister that I have talked with on 
 the subject declares that this is the tendency and often the 
 lamentable result of joining the lodge, to keep Christians from 
 the prayer meeting, where according to their covenant vows 
 they ought to be. There may be some exceptions, but the 
 almost universal rule is that a man's zeal for the cause of Christ 
 goes down just in the proportion in which his zeal for his order 
 goes up. It is a waste of money. It is money thrown away. 
 Only a small part of it, even in societies of boasted benevo- 
 lence, ever comes back in the shape of relief. The Odd-fellows 
 boast of their great benevolence, but what they pay out for all 
 sorts of relief amounts to only about one-third of what they 
 receive from their members. Figures in my possession, given by 
 themselves, prove this. The very best that can be said of such 
 societies is that they are very poor mutual insurance companies. 
 Tlio insurance company whose running expenses were sixty wux 
 
18 
 
 percent, of Its receipts would have to g© begging lor policy 
 holUfctB. The Christian has no right to use the Lord's money in 
 this way 
 
 14. Mott secret societies rehire those who join them to do that 
 which is a violation of Ood's word. They require them to take 
 extra-jud'cial oaths, which is contrary to the command, "Swear 
 not at all," and also to the command, "Thou shall not forswear 
 thyself." The Bible says, "If a soul swear, pronouncing with 
 his lips to do evil or to do good, whatsoever it be that a man 
 shall pronounce with an oath, and it be hid from him, when he 
 knoweth of it then he shall be guilty in one of these. And it 
 shall be when he shall be guilty in one of the»e things, that he 
 shall confess that he hath sinned in that thing." Lev. v. 4, 6. 
 According to God's word, then, a man has no right to swear 
 beforehand that he will keep secret things the character of 
 which he does not yet know. Yet multitudes of church mem- 
 bers swear when they join the lodge, not only that they will 
 never reveal, but that they will ever conceal things concerning 
 which they as yet know nothing. How can they reconcile this 
 with God's word? 
 
 15. My last argument is that sorm of these secret societies, 
 espeoiallii Freemasonry, r^ect Ohrist. "I'hey home taken mg 
 Jjordgmiayand I know not wherethey havelaid him." They do tiot 
 require faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and yet they send their 
 members when they die to the Grand Lodge above. If they 
 are right in this the Bible is false, for it tells us that there is no ' 
 name under heaven but the name of Christ whereby men must 
 be saved. It also tells us that God has "committed all judgment 
 unto the Son." Why? "That all men should honor the Son 
 even as they honor the Father. He that knoweth not the Son- 
 knoneth nut the Father which hath sent him." John y. 23, 23, 
 Ministers, no doubt, oftenprayinthelodgeinthe name of Chrisr, 
 when there is no one to ofier special objection, but it is unmason- 
 ic and Masons have repeatedly declared it to be so. Kot long 
 since I examined fifteen or twenty prayers in a standard Masonic 
 book and none of them had any reference to Christ, unless it 
 was one in which one of his titles was used. 1 also found 
 important quotations from the New Testament from which the 
 name of Christ was deliberately omitted. Will church members 
 who belong to the lodge explain how they reconcile this with the 
 command, "Whatsoever ye do in word or deed do all in the 
 name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by 
 him." Bither the lodge or the church is al wrong in the matter. 
 Which is it? Those who belong to both ought to leave one or 
 the other if they would be consistent. Many more good argu- 
 ments might be presented, and much more might be said under 
 those that have been presented, but want of time forbids. The 
 arguments used in favor of secret societies are mainly three. I 
 will answer them as briefly as I can. 
 
 1. . Families home secrets, therefore societies may. But no family 
 hasjiermanent secrets unless there is something, wrong, and no 
 fatally that I know of it a t>eeret sooie^ with its members ondar 
 
14 ■ 
 
 oath not to tell what ia done In it. If there is'such a family it 
 ought to be cloBely watched by the police. The argument is 
 utterty fallacious. Proper caution as to what we say to others 
 isoae thing: organized secretism is a vastly diflferent thing. 
 
 2. Good men belong to secret societies, therefore they cannot be 
 wrong. I admit the premise but I deny^ the conclusion. The 
 argument proves too much. It proves that polygamy and slavery 
 and a free use of liquorb and persecution and many other evils 
 are right, for undoubtedly good men, ChTistianmen, have upheld 
 and practiced thtese things in their ignorance, before they had 
 the light that we have. The argument not only proves too much 
 but it has a double edge. If you can prove that secret societies 
 are good because a few good men belong to Ihem, lean prove 
 that they are bad because many_ good men have openly renounc- 
 ed or quietly dropped them, believing them to be bad, while the 
 majority of Christian men do not believe in the principles on 
 which they are based. Excepting the milder orders of Good 
 Templars and grangers, the number of Christian men who 
 belong to secret societies is very small compared with the whole 
 number, though of course it is vastly larger thanit ought to be. 
 With very few exceptions the active secret society man is not the 
 active Christian, and liee versa. If you look into the niatter you 
 will often find that the good Christian men quoted as belonging 
 to certain secret societies hardly ever go to lodge or have not 
 been for years. I have found it so in several instances. They 
 are often ashamed, especially if they are ministers, -to have It 
 known that they are members. Several large denominations of 
 Christians make memberiihip in a secret order a bar to church 
 membership. Many churbh bodies have passed resolutions 
 against them. The American Missionary Association, to whose 
 funds this church contributes, advised the colored people of the 
 South to keep out of these orders. The national movement 
 against secretism is assuming large proportions, especially in 
 the West. II sustains a weekly paper and has a number of State 
 lecturers constantly in the field. Although it does not persuade 
 many to leave the lodge it is keeping large numbers from join- 
 ing. The reform is getting out of the stage of ridicule ; the 
 stage of persecution may come, but after that will certainly be 
 the last stage, that of triumph, for it is a true reform. If you 
 can cite the names of great men who have belonged to the lodge, 
 I can cite the names of greater who have strongly condemned it. 
 Washington was once a Mason but he let it alone the latter part 
 of hislifei and in his farewell me jsage he warned the country 
 against secret orders. Adams, Webster, Seward, Whitiier, 
 Philips, Sumner, Everett,- G-errit Smith, these men were all 
 strong in their condemnation of secret societies. I do not know 
 of any of the old anti-slavery leaders who did not also oppose 
 secretism. - 
 
 3. Secret societies do much good. I admit that they do some 
 good. Good is always mixed with evil. That ia Satan's pdUeff. 
 Most evils a^e made up, like children's medicines, with some, 
 sugar to make, the thing go down wdl. There were deoidad 
 
IS 
 
 incidental benefits connected with American slavery. Tliere 
 are great advantages in a despotic government. Every institu- 
 tion has some good and some bad ia it. If the good predomi- 
 nates we willlseep the institution but try to eliminate the bad 
 from it. If the bad predominates tlien the institution must go 
 down, unless it is radically changed. The good done by secret 
 societies is not because of their secretism but inspiteofit. 
 
 I have tried in this sermon to use nothing but argument. ' I 
 shall count myself happy if I am met in reply by nothing but 
 argument. It is all I ask . I have tried to make no statement 
 which I could not prove if I had the time. If I have said any- 
 thing unjust or untrue I will gladly accept and make correction. 
 If I have said anything that is true in a wrong spirit, I am sorry, 
 for I have tried to guard against it. If as your pastor or as vour 
 friend, as a minister or as a man, I have any influence with any 
 one here to-night, I would use all that influence in urging you 
 not to join any of the secret orders of the day. And I say this 
 because I believe, as firmly and as conscientiously as I believe 
 any part of God's word or any truth Of the Christian religion 
 that organized secretism is one of the great dangers to our 
 republican form of government, which I love as I love my na- 
 tive land ; and to the pure Gospel of Christ, to the kingdom of 
 our blessed Lord, which I love above all other things. 
 
SERMON 
 
 -OS- 
 
 MASONRY, 
 
 -BT- 
 
 Rev. JAMES WILLIAMS. 
 
 Pfttiding Elder of Dakota DUtriet, 
 . Northuettem lewa Conferenet. 
 
 A SECEDING MASTER MASON. 
 
 Delivered in the M. B. Church, 
 at eOc Point, D. T., Augugt Xlth, 187S. 
 
 CHICAGO, ILLINOIS: 
 
 EZRA A. COOK, PUBLISHER. 
 
 1882. 
 
METHODIST BFISOOAL PBBA.OHBiaS VtTtUi SBOSEOT. 
 
 In the Union County Oomier of July 14th the following was 
 published : — ^A responsible eentleman informs us that a week 
 or two since, Rev. James WUliams, the Presiding Elder (or the 
 "proscribing elder" is suggested as the name by a friend at our 
 elbow,) of Dakota District, took occasion,in a sermon at the Clyde 
 school-house,to brand the persons belonging to secret societies.as 
 anything else'than pure-minded g«ntlemeii, and the sermon was 
 followed by a prayer by Rev. 8. T. Moore, who upon his arrival 
 in our city less than one year since, represented himself as a 
 Mason, in which he adopted^the sentiments of a preacher. No 
 objections have been raised to discussing the principles involv- 
 ed in secrecy, but men of small calibre and narrow views, who 
 are unable to discuss principles, enter upon a personal tirade, 
 and call that slang preaching. The sermon was delivered in a 
 community where there are but few, if any, members of secret 
 orders, and knowing that if the members of these societies were 
 as bad as represented, they snould be exposed, a number of the 
 citizens of Elk Point and vicinity have united in a request to 
 have the sermon repeated in Elk Point. We hope the Rev. 
 gentleman will And it convenient to comply, as an anxiety ex- 
 ists to know what new levetetion he has received on the subjeot 
 The foUowidg is 
 
 THE BEQUEST. 
 
 To Bet. Jwmet WiUiams: 
 
 The undersigned residents of Elk Point and vicinity, not 
 having been fortunate enough to hear your sermon delivered at 
 Clyde's school-houseon the 4th day of July last, against secret 
 societies, and having a great desire to listen to the same, would 
 respectfully ask you to reproduce it at your earliest convenience 
 in Elk Point, D. T. • 
 
 W.Jl. Vinspo,. , A, H. Stringer. C. F. Mallahan. 
 
 E. W. Laird. , V- B- Gantt. O. H. KiOir. 
 
 W. W. Kirk: H. H. Blair. ' ' ' J. A. Wallace. 
 
 D. W. Myers. J. 8. Talcott, B. W. Miller. 
 
 J. G. Conly. Samuel Fuller. F. 0. Herring. 
 
 W. E. Caton. W. J. Conly. J. L. Bender? 
 
 A. E. Ronne. M. B. Kent. P. W. M'Manus 
 
 G.W. Freeman. - W. M. K. Cain. D."W. Hasson. 
 
 ,j^, THBKBPLT. 
 
 „ „ ' Elk Poiht, July 20, 1876. 
 
 Mesart. Vinton, McMaJum, and 22 otherit: 
 
 8iB8 :— On my arriving home this morning I find a request pub- 
 lished in the Union County Oowier for me to preach a sermon 
 on Secret Societies. Ihave the honor to -state thatlshall be 
 happy to comply with your request and name Thursday even- 
 ing, July 2?th, at the M. B. church. Tours truly, 
 
 ,„ „■ James WiliiIamb. 
 
 [WoTB.— The sermon will not be the same as the one preach- 
 ed in the Clyde school-house, as in that one I only gave expns- 
 sion to my convictions in one division of mysubjeotl 
 
SERMON ON MiSONBT. 
 
 BY BBV. JAMBS WT T.T.TAMH - 
 
 PreBidisg Elder of Dkkota District, Northwest Iowa Conference. 
 
 A SECSOiNfi Master Mason. 
 
 Ddiveredin theM. E. dmrch, at EVc Point, D. T., Aug. 11 1875. 
 
 Acts !v. 11-13.— **This 16 the stone which is Bet at nanght of yon bnilders, 
 which is become the head of the corner. Neither is there saivation in any 
 other, for there is none other name under heaven ^ven amon^ men 
 whereby we mast bebaved." 
 
 In appearing befoie you this evening, it is with some anxie- 
 ty, not as to where the truth lies, and final victOTy, but as to my 
 ability to do justice to the subject, as it is one of vital import- 
 ance to our holy Chiistianity and our great Republic. We find 
 in our midst a system despotic in its government, unchristian in 
 its character; binding its votaries by unlawful oaths, with death 
 penalties annexed, "to forever hail, never reveal, and ever con- 
 ceal" the secrets of the system and its adherents; erime not 
 excepted. A system professing to be charitable in its aim, yet 
 excluding all from its pale, except those who are perfect in 
 body, sound in mind, young in years, and in comfortable cir- 
 cumstances for money. A system professing to take our Holy 
 Scriptures as its rule of faith and practice, and yet carefully 
 excluding Him of whom "Moses in the law and the prophets 
 did write"; Him who is the "all in all," the "alpha and omega," 
 the "beginning and the end" of the New Testament. A system 
 j>rofessing to be ancient and honorable above all others, and yet 
 for its defense, forces its adherents to calumny, slander, and 
 misrepresentation. Professing to interfere with no man's relig- 
 ions views, yet says to the Christian who prays within its sacred 
 halls : You must not approach the throne of grace in the name 
 of Him who has said, "No man cometh to the Father but by 
 me." 
 
 In approaching the subject for discussion a perplexity arises 
 as to what it is. So strange and contradictory is it that if you 
 ask six different men of e(]^ual intelligence, and they members 
 of the order, you will receive almost as many different answers. 
 It reminds me of the dispute over the color of a certain reptile : 
 
 •"TIb green ; I saw it w'th these eyes," 
 
 "I've seen it, sir, as well as you. 
 
 And must afa.rm again, 'tis bine." 
 
 "'Tie green I 'tis green 1 sir, I asstire ye." 
 
 ' 'Green 1" cries the other in a fury,— 
 
 "Sirs I" cries an nmpiie. "cease your pother^ 
 
 It's neither one nor yet the other. 
 
 'Tis red ! I caught It yesternight,"— 
 
 He upe'd the box, and lo I 'twas white. 
 So in treating it all that I can do is to refer to the system 
 
i 
 
 itself and to its authorities to determine what it is and what it 
 professes to do. One thing is certain : 
 
 Freemasonry profesges a religioun and sating ekaroieter, and fhis 
 toithout Christ or the conditions of the Gospel. I do not say that it 
 brings railing accusations against the Gospel; Hometimes it 
 comes with words that sound fayorable thereto, with many 
 beautiful passages taken from the Divine word, but so the great 
 Arch enemy came in ages past, with the words of God in his 
 mouth, to overthrow our Saviour. So in the last days he comes 
 in like manner, to the overthrow of the church that Christ pur- 
 chased with his own blood, rather than submit to the shameful 
 conditions of peace which Batan offered in the wilderness. But 
 we will listen to what Masonic authors -say concerning its 
 religious pretensions. Masonry has its doctrines, its prayers, 
 its hymns, its altars, its covenants, its priesthood, its rituals, its 
 burials, its temples. It protesses to be Divine and inspired of 
 God. 
 "Hail Masonry divine, Tbon art diviae."— Sickel'B Monitor page 114. 
 It professes to save its disciples forever. "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 build- 
 er's use ; but we as Free and Accepted Masons, are taught to 
 make use of it for the more noble and glorious purpose of divest 
 ing our hearts and consciences of all the vices and superfluities 
 of life, thereby fitting our minds as living stones, for that spirit- 
 ual building, that house not made with hands, eternal in the 
 heavens."-^8ickers Monitor, page 34. 
 
 It is said to be a religious insiitution. "All the ceremonies of 
 OUT order are prefaced and terminated with prayer, because 
 Masonry is a religious institution." — ^Mackey's Lexicon, page 
 871. 
 
 Finney quotes from Town: "Every good Mason is of necessity 
 truly and emphatically a Christian: and is assured of his election 
 and final salvation." The same sentiment 1 have often heard 
 expressed, and by some in our midst. "In age, as Master Ma- 
 sons, we enjoy the happy reflection consequent on a well-spent 
 life, and die in the hope of a glorious immortality." — Sickel's 
 Monitor, page 114. "In short by diligent observance of the by- 
 laws of your lodge, the constitutions of Masonry, and above all, 
 the Holy Scriptures, which are given as a rule and guide to 
 your faith, you will be enabled to acquit yotirself with honor 
 and reputation, and lay up a crown of rejoicing which shall 
 continue when time shall be no more." — ^Ibid, page 151. Here 
 we have an apparent appeal to the Holy Scriptures as binding 
 on their faith and practice, but let us see what it takes to con- 
 stitute Masonic saving faith. "It asks only for a declaration of 
 that simple and universal faith in which men of all nations and 
 all sects agree, the belief in a God and his superintending prov- 
 idence. Beyond this it does not venture, but leaves the minds 
 of its disciples on other and sectarian points perfectly 
 
untrammelled." — Mackey's Lexicon, page 404. In the installa- 
 tion these qqestioosi are asked: "You agree to be a good man. 
 and true, and strictly to obey the moral law. jAm I dp."— 
 Sickel's Monitor, page 137. "Tou agree to promote the general 
 good of society, to cultivate the social virtues and to propagate 
 the knowledge of the jnysiio art. Am. I do."— Ibid, page 139. 
 Here we lind all that is required to make a true Mason. . And 
 Past General Grand High Priest Mackey sums it up- in these 
 words: "The religion then of Masonry is pure tJieism, on which 
 its different members engraft their own peculiar opinions." — 
 Macfeey's Ittonitor, page 404. 
 
 But what does it propose to do for its faithful followers? 
 "The Entered Apprentice is the type of nnregenerate man, grop- 
 ing in moral and mental darkness, and seeking for the light 
 which is to guide his steps and point him to the path which 
 leads to duty and to Him who gives to duty its reward." — Sick- 
 el's Monitor, page 36, As the candidate is led onward we find 
 the way opening before him and descrihed in these words : "The 
 Entered Apprentice is to emerge from darkness to ligbt. The 
 Fellow Craft is to come out of ignorance into knowledge. This 
 degree therefore by fitting emblems is intended to typify these 
 struggles of the ardent mind for the attainment of truth and 
 above all the Divine truth, the comprehension of which sur- 
 passeth human ^uaderstanding. and to which standing in the 
 middle chamber, after his laborious ascent of the winding stairs, 
 he can only approximate by the reception of an imperfect and 
 yet glorious r^waid in the revelation of thai hieroglyphic light 
 which none biitcrafismen ever saw." — Sickel's Monitor, page 
 61. Mackey in his Lexicon on page 397, speaking of the Mas- 
 ter's degree, says: 'Konebut he who has visited the holy of 
 holies, and traveled the road of peril, can have any conception ' 
 of the mysteries unfolded in this degree." Now hear the sum- 
 ming up. "These three degrees thus form a perfect and harmo- 
 nious whole, nor can we conceive that anything can be suggested 
 more which the soul of man requires."— Sickel's Monitor, page 
 78. Mackey says on page 16 of his Lexicon : "A Mason, who by 
 living in strict obedience to the obligations and precepts of the 
 fraternity is free from sin." 
 
 But we notice in all this that the name of Christ is studiously- 
 avoided ; and, although his own words are used in prayer, yet 
 he must not be asked to bear them before the throne although he 
 is the appointed advocate with the Father fur us. And while 
 Masons are taught to build "spiritual houses," and have "a holy 
 priesthood" and to "offer acceptable sacrifices to God", the words 
 'through Jesus Christ" are lett out of the quotation. But we 
 are told in his , word, that none of these can be done but 
 "through Jesus Christ." In the words of our text. "There is 
 none other name under heaven given among men wher»by we 
 must be saved." Christ is the "all in all' ' of the Scriptures, and 
 "God hath highly exalted him' and givea him a name which is 
 
aboye every naiQe, that at the name of Jesus eveiy knee should 
 bow, of things in he»yen and things in the earth, and things 
 undertho earth .and that every tongue should confess that Jesus 
 ChristisLord, tototheglory of God" the Father." Masonry 
 speaks of and looks forward to the resurrection of the. body. 
 Mackey in hia Lexicon, page '^8, says, "Aresurrectioa from tiie 
 grave and a future immortality were the great lessons which it 
 was the design of the ancient mysteries to inculcate. In like 
 manner by a symbolic ceremony of great impressiveness the 
 same sublime truths are made to constitute tlie end and object 
 of Freemasonry in the third degree." Though as I said 
 Masonry looks forward, and endeavors to impress upon the can- 
 didates the truth of the resurrection of the body, yet it ignores 
 Him who is "the resurrection and the life." 
 
 Butdplhear some Mason in my audience saying that there 
 are references made to Christ in some of the late Monitors, by 
 speaking of God as having been incarnate, and referring to the 
 "Lion of the tribe of Judah." These expressions are calculated 
 to be misleading in their character to the Christian, and I must 
 refer again to Masonic authority to ascertain how much author- 
 ity these references have in the system. 1 have stated l>etore 
 on the authority of Masonic authors, "that Masonry is 
 pure theism," and that private members may engraft their 
 peculiar opinions thereon but must not introduce them 
 into the lodge. But now hear what Chase, in his Digest 
 of Masoaic Liw, says, Pa?d 208: "To require that a 
 candidate profess a belief in the 'Divine authority of the Bible' 
 or a 'state of future rewards and punishments' is a serious inno- 
 vation in the very body of Masonry." Again, on page 207 we 
 read: "Blue Lodge Masonry has nothing whatever to do with 
 the Bible. It is not founded on the Bible, if it was, it would 
 not be Maspnry, it would be something else. Masonry is a 
 mere charitable institution, nothing else, and it is found- 
 ed uppn tradition. Solomon, to whom it is traced, 
 and who is said to have been the first M. £. Grand Master never 
 hoard of the New Testament. He was not a Christian. We 
 must therefore blot out the memory of Solomon, and also that 
 of the other Grand Masters, or we must not insist upon a be- 
 lief in the authority of either the Old or the New Testament. 
 The position which Christian Masons assign to the Bible is a 
 very natural, but not a necessary one. It is thus to them as 
 Christians and not as Masons." Thus the Bible becomes a 
 creed book. Masonry cannot admit such narrow minded re- 
 strictions, and it is easy for us to discover the inspiration that 
 makes the adherents of the system brand as "guns of small cal- 
 ibre" and "narrow minded," all that dare break its fetters and 
 proclaim Christ the Crucified Redeemer, as the only hope of the 
 world. 
 
 .Wje haye found in pur examination that Masonry does pro- 
 l^s a kteliglous chanMiter, and to give in its first three degieeg 
 
''all that the soul of mw> nquires," and jret attaches ixo merit to 
 Christ not even so much as to mention his name. Are we pre- 
 pared as Christians to acknowledge Freemasonry as Divine, as 
 inspired of God as it claims itself to be? This system which 
 took its present form in the year 1717 in a rum tavern in Lon- 
 don; this system that carefully excludes from its charmed cir- 
 cles all those who are not tit for military service; this system 
 that rejects Christ who died for all mankind ; can this lead us 
 to light and God, and Heaven ? One has said, ''Truly combina- 
 tions of good men, and holy church organizations have been 
 known to apostatize, but when have Christless or secular organi- 
 zations ever arisen to the sublimity of sons of God ? And 
 yet we are presumptuously told that Masonic faith becomes a 
 beam of light to guide the devoted Mason to Heaven. It is 
 true it professes a God, but it is not the true Qud, for we are 
 told in the Divine Word that "Whosoever denieth the Son the 
 same hath not the Father." 1 John xi. 33. And again. 'Thus 
 saith the Lord, the Ring of Israel, and his Redeemer the Lord of 
 hosts, I am the first and I am the last, and beside me there is no 
 God." And yet this religion looks down from the sublime ped- 
 estal on which it has exalted itself, and with compassion views 
 our lower forms of religion and exhorts the craft to demonstrate 
 the superior excellence of the faith they possess. Mackey 's Lex- 
 icon, page 405. O how humbling to our glorious Christianity 
 to see its ministers acknowledge mis claim by going "Neither 
 naked nor clad, barefoot nor shod, hood-winked wii.h a cable- 
 tow about their neck j" poor, blind candidates seeking light at 
 the door of a Masonic lodge; turning away from Him who has 
 said, ''I will send another comforter, even the spirit of truth, 
 and he shall guide you into all truth." And heed- 
 ing the voice of this false religion saying "follow your 
 guide and fear no danger." But if its faith is unchristian, what 
 are its teachings? Christ said, ''Let your light shine before 
 men." "I speak openly to the world, in secret have I said noth- 
 ing." Masonry binds its adherents with fearful oaths to say 
 nothing. Christ said "Swear not at alL" Masonry heaps oaths 
 an oaths. The Bible says, "Thou shalt not kill." Masonry 
 claims the right to kill, and has exercised it, too, on more than 
 one occasion. The Bible says "Call no man Master; be not ye 
 called Babbi; seek not honor one of another." Masonry lavish- 
 es honor on honor, has masters without number, "Worshipful 
 and Grand ;" heaps title ou title up to "Grand High Priest 
 
 - -lonians 
 
 when he speaks of him who "opposeth and exalteth himself 
 above all that is called God. So that he as God sitteth in the 
 temple of God}" and are we not when we hear these wonderful 
 titles, and listen to these lofty pretensions as to what it will do 
 for men, and see how lictle it really does, yea, how positively 
 
opposed to the tnie doctrine 6'f Q6i that gaves A'anklnd, (orclb'y 
 reminded of the words of the Apostle Peter: ''Tnese are wells 
 without water, clouds that are carried with a tempest, to whom 
 the mist of darkhess ie reserved for ever. For when they 
 speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the 
 lusts of the, flesh, through much wantonness, for those that 
 were clean escaped from them who live in error. While theyprom- 
 ise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption, 
 for of whom a man is overcome of the same is he brought in bond- 
 age." "Have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of dark- 
 ness, but rather reprove them," says the Bible. Masonry teach- 
 es to hide in darkness. The Bible says, "Love your enemies, 
 bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and 
 pray for them which despitefuUy use you and persecute you. 
 That ve may be the children of your father which is in Heaven." 
 Masonry says, derange his business; oppose and persecuie to 
 the very death those that violate their Masonic obligations. 
 And I well understood the import of the threat spoken in my 
 ear by a prominent Mason of many degrees, after I renounced 
 the system , as he said in an undertone, that it might not reach 
 others : "You will yet rue the steps you have taken in dust and 
 ashes." And I well understand tae words ef a Masonic minis- 
 ter in my own C 'ufeience, when he says of me, "He must come 
 down." And I well understand the whisperings that come to 
 my ears from our own midst, "This sermon will move him 
 from the district." These are all the breathings of this relentless 
 system, which proposes to rule or ruin. 
 
 Again, the Bible makes our loyalty to Christ the grounds of 
 our acceptance with God. Masonry makes our loyalty to tbe 
 secrets of the insiitutioH, the cardinal virtue on which our 
 entrance to the Grand Lodge above is assured. At almost every 
 point of Christian teaching. Masonry comes in conflict directly 
 or indirectly. Can you wonder then that some of the disciples 
 of Christ seeing these things and hearing the words of Jesus say- 
 ing, "Ye cannot serve two masters," have broken fnim its 
 shackles, and cast all on the Saviour, even though it is in the 
 face of dark threats, from those who are ableto "kill the body," 
 but tht<,nk Ood, are not able . to kill the soul ; fear 
 ing Him rather who has said, "he is able to destroy 
 both soul and body in hell." It is asserted by some, that 
 it is a charitable institution, and yet it does what no church on 
 the face of this earth would be guilty of doing. It excludes from 
 its privileges the poor, (by ma&ing its fees so heavy that they 
 cannot pay them), tbe lame, the indrm, and women. And while 
 Christianity has its hundreds of institutions of charity and edu- 
 cation, yet with all its boasted age you may travel from Maine 
 to Oregon, from Dakota to Florida, from Palestine to North 
 America, from Asia over the islands of the Pacific, to Great 
 Britain, and not find one home forthe friendless, one orphanage, 
 oneasylumfor the poor, or one hospital for the afflicted bnilt 
 or snstained by Masonic charities. 
 
9 
 
 BiU says one, their charities are coofined especially to the 
 order. Place the money given to the support of the institution 
 m the hands of any flrsi class business man of integrity, and he 
 will distribute double the so-called charities and leave himself 
 a fair percentage for his trouble. And in this connecilon I 
 must again refer you to the fact that its members are mainly 
 chosen from the shrewd businessmen of our townsand cities. "Bat 
 we support the churches of Christ of whicb we are the twin sister 
 and hand-maid." And I have even heard soma of the knowing 
 ones who had delved among the rubbish of the upper degrees 
 say, that the Bible itself owed its preservation to the charities of 
 the order. It supports the churches as the wolf supports the 
 lamb ! It literally "takes in"' mini 4ers free, that they may give 
 to it the weight of their influence and the dignity of their pro- 
 fession, and thereby help to cover up its dark workings, and 
 very wisely to keep him from stultifying himself, tells him he 
 must not allow his zeal for the order to draw him into debate. 
 We find what use they sometimes have for these ministers, when 
 we ebe one of them at the behest of the lodge, from which there 
 is no appeal, with horses under full whip hurrying down to- 
 ward old Fort Niagara to secure the change of horses for the 
 carriage that was unlawfully bearing the ill-fated Morgan to 
 his death. But it serves a still better p urpose, when they can 
 keep them still, and point to them as being good men, and say, 
 when the truth is told of the system, "Do you believe that such 
 guod men as these would adhere to a system that has such obli- 
 gations and penalties as these expositions say ?" And thus the 
 ministry became the great bulwark of an institution, that to be 
 hated by every good man needs but to be seen in 
 its true character and workings. I cast the insult back, 
 that the church of Christ has to subsist on Masonic charities. 
 True the enemy may persecute, and drive from place to place, 
 and even bathe his weapons in the blood of the one that J ares 
 assert that Zion is free, but this has ever been the precursor of 
 glorious victories for truth, and he who has said to the true 
 and faithful disciple, "Lo, I am with you alwaj , even unto the 
 end of the world," has also said, -'AH power is" given to me in 
 Heaven above, and in the Earth beneath." Nay , it is the cover- 
 ing of Christianity which this loathsome institution has been 
 able to throw around it that has been its only protection. I long 
 to see the time come when the great spiritual body of Christ 
 will breais: away from all the entanglements of the world and 
 venture all on the only means that ever can benefit this world. 
 
 While I am speaking of the connection of ministers with the 
 order, and the use that is made of them, I cannot but refer to 
 the position that St. John the Baptist, and St. John the Evange- 
 list are made to assume in the system. 'Plaey are said to have 
 been eminent patrons of the order, and are incorporated into 
 the very system itself. We are given to understand by Masonic 
 
10 
 
 ■writers that previous to A. D. ItVt tlie lodge was composed of 
 operative Masons with only an occasional one admitted as a 
 patron Neither of these were stone masons. Now can we im- 
 agine, that "that" Voice, "who made his dwelling in the wil- 
 aerneBB, scorning the habitation of men, being clothed in coarse 
 raiment, eating locusts and wild honey, having on him the great 
 commission t-) proclaim Christ and prepare his way, as an emi- 
 nent patron of an order that even in the full light of the Gospel 
 day rejects the Redeemer he came to proclaim? or the Evangel- 
 istf Was it while actively engaged in his younger days as a 
 fisherman at Galilee, or was it while following Jesus through 
 Palestine and leaning on his breast; or was it while on Patmos 
 seeing those glorious visions of the day to come, that he learned 
 to love an institution which rejects entirely his beloved Lord? 
 I really would hot be surprised to hear some wise Masonic delver 
 inform us that John on Patmos did not see Heaven opened at 
 all, but found himself unexpectedly in a session of some Grand 
 Lodge. There is not the first intimation either in the Scriptures, 
 history, (Masonic or other) or from the nature of the men, their 
 occupations, or on any other grounds, that these great and good 
 men ever heard of a Masonic lodge, and I demand better proof 
 thau'mere intimations, or assertions, before I can pin my faith 
 to such a statement. Dr. Dalcho, a compiler of the book of 
 Constitutions for the Masons of South Carolina, says, "Neither 
 Adam nor Moses, nor Joshua, nor David, nor Solomon, nor Hi- 
 ram, nor St. John the Baptist, nor St. John the Exangelist be 
 longed to the Masonic order. Hypothesis in history is absurd. 
 There is no record, sacred or profane, to induce us to believe 
 that these holy and distinguished men were Freemasons, and 
 our traditions do not go back to those days. To state that they 
 were Freemasons may make the vulgar stare, but will rather ex- 
 cits the contempt than the admiration of the wise. It is a fraud, 
 and an insult to the common sense of any intelligent man.*' 
 
 We find also that Masonry has no place for repentance, but 
 assures that man can by a system of self-culture prepare him- 
 self for God's favor. The very first words of the Gospel trump- 
 et to all men however good is: "Sepent." But perhaps I ought 
 to qualify my statement concerning repentance. It did have at 
 one time about forty thousand, making four-fifths of the whole 
 number of Masons then in the United States, who stood weeping 
 between the porch and altar, with a repentance not 'lO be repent- 
 ed of, leaving the craft to walk no more with it forever. 
 
 We have now looked at the ssytem in its religious aspect. I 
 turn to consider the despotte character of its government. And as 
 I have not in the other, neither will I while considering this 
 point depend on mere assertions for the establishment of my 
 position, but will candidly refer you to their own writings, 
 "the law and the testimony." 
 
 I notice fif st the organization of the Grand Lodge at the 
 Apple Tree tavern , England, in February, 1817, and June 24th 
 
It 
 
 ot the same year. "Among the regulations which were propos- 
 ed and agreed to at this meeting, was the following: 'That the 
 privilege of assembling a^ Masons, which had been hitherto 
 unlimited, should be vested in certain lodges or asstmblies of 
 Masons convened in certain places, and that any lodge to be 
 hereafter convened except the four old lodges at this time exist- 
 ing, should be legally authorized to act by a warrant from the 
 Grand Master, for the time being, granted to certain individuals 
 by petition, with the consent and approbation of the Grand 
 Lodge in communication, and without such warrant no lodge 
 should be hereafter deemed regular or constitutional.' In com- 
 pliment to the brethren of the four old lodges, by whom the 
 Grand Lodge was first formed, it was resolved, that every priv- 
 ilege which they collectiveljr enjoyed by virtue of their imme- 
 morial rights, they should still continue to enjoy, ana that no 
 law, rule or regulation, to be hereafter made or passed in the 
 Grand Lodge should ever deprive them of such privilege, or 
 encroach on any landmark which wns at that time established 
 as the standard of Masonic government." — Chase's Digest, page 
 11-12. 
 
 Yon will notice here that these four lodges first organized 
 themselves into a Grand Lodge and then ordained "that the 
 privilege of assembling as Masons, which had hitherto been 
 unlimited, should be vested in certain lodges, or assemblies of 
 Masons, and that no others should have the right to assemble 
 without the consent and approbation of and warrant from the 
 Grand Lodge in communication;" and of course this "warrant" 
 must be paid for. And here by the first act of speculative 
 Masonry the ''liberties of a large class of industrious men were 
 seized, usurped and taken away without the slightest color or 
 pretense of right, and the Grand Lodge or central government 
 whichtheyformed was, andis still, a simple, absolute despot- 
 ism. 
 
 But do you say this was only in the organization that this des- 
 potic character is found. Let us see whatour modern authorized 
 expositors of the institution have to say concerning it, and it 
 would strike us with the greatest astonishment were it not a 
 part and parcel with its many unwarranted assumptions. We 
 will hear what Perfect Prince Albert G. Mackey has to say in 
 hisLexicon, page 185: "A Grand Lodge is invested with power 
 and authority over all the craft within its jurisdiction. It is 
 the supreme court of appeal in all Masonic cases, and to its 
 decrees unlimited obedience must be paid by every lodge and 
 every Mason situated within its control. The government ot 
 Grand Lodges is therefore completely despotic. While a Grand 
 Lodge exists, its edicts must be respected and obeyed withma ex- 
 amination, by its subordinate lodges. Chase in his Digest on 
 pages 23, 23, says, "A Grand Lodge is the supreme Masonic 
 authority within its jurisdiction. Its powers are three-fold : 
 legislative, judicial, and executive. In its legislative capacity 
 
1« 
 
 it has the power of enacting laws and regulations forthegof- 
 ernment of tire craft, and of altering, repealing and abrogating 
 them. In its Judicial capacity it has the power of investigating, 
 regulating, and deciding all matters relative to the cran or to 
 particular lodges or to individua Masonswhich it may exe- 
 cute, either of itself, or by such delegated authority as it may 
 appoint. In its executive capacity, it has the power of erasing 
 lodges, and expelling brethren from the craft. These powers 
 are subject to but one limitation which is that contained in the 
 regulations of 1721, and expressed in the following concise lan- 
 guage: 'Provided always that the old landmarks be carefully 
 preserved.' By this standard and this <m^, are we to measure 
 the powers of the Grand Lodge." 
 
 Here we have in the strongest language from Masonic author- 
 ity the despotic character of the Grand Lodge asserted. Mack. 
 ey goes on to state that there is no redress tor its subordinates, 
 and all that can be done is for the Grand Lodges of other States 
 to take revolutionary action against the one that abuses its 
 power, but even then their action is as fatal to the craft as it is 
 to the Grand Lodge. See Mackey's Lexicon, page 185. The 
 charters of these subordinate lodges would be worthless, and 
 they would have to again secure and pay for new charters be- 
 fore they could proceed with work. But while there might 
 seem to be the semblance of protection from downright outlaw- 
 ry in this revolutionary provision, it is only a semblance. See 
 Mackey's Lexicon, page 185. We see thit it is only in the 
 violation of ancient ''land marks" of the order that this action 
 can be taken. If the Grand Lodge of this Territory should see 
 fit to send an order to Elk Point Lodge stating that I was dan- 
 gerous to the prosperity of the order, and that they must execute 
 Masonic penalties upon me, they must do it and take my life, or 
 violate their sworn obligation. 
 
 But let us trace this subject a little further and find the power 
 that controls the rank and file of the Masonic body. Hear what 
 Mackey.and Caase say on the powers of a Master of a lodge ; 
 "The power of a Master in his lodge is absolute. He is the 
 supreme arbiter of all questions of order, so far as the meetingis 
 cnacerned nur can any appeal be made from his decision to tuat 
 of ttie lodge. He is amenable for his conduct to the Grand 
 Lodge alone, and to that body must every complaint against him 
 be made. For no misdemeanor, however great, can he be tried 
 by his lodge, for, as no one has a right to preside there in his 
 presence except himself, it would be absurd to suppose that he 
 could SLt as the judge in his own case. This is the decision 
 that has been made on the subject by every Grand Lodge in the 
 United Slates which has entertained the question, and it may 
 now be considered as a settled law of Masonry." Mackey's 
 Lexicon, page 298. 
 
 Again in Chase's Digest, page 380 and 881, we read: "The 
 powers and privileges of the Master of a lodge are by no means 
 limited in extent. No one can preside in his lodge in his pres- 
 
13 
 
 ei>ce, without his consent, and it therefore follows that charges 
 against him cannot be Uied in his lodge. He may call to his 
 assistance any Master he pleases, may call special meetings, and 
 open, close, or call off his lodge at p easure. He may command 
 the attendance of his officers and members at any time by sum 
 xnons, may appoint all ciimmitteeB not otherwise provided for. 
 We believe it is well settled by nearly every Grand Lodge in the 
 United States, that agreeable to Masonic law, the power of a 
 Master in his lodge is absolute." 
 
 We find no limitation of these powers only as he is subject to 
 the Grand Lodge, — and where does the centralized power of the 
 Grand Lodge lie ? Mackey in his Lexicon, page 187, says, "The 
 powers of the Grand Master during tbe recess of the Grand 
 Lorige are very extensive. He has full authority and rjght not 
 only to be present, but also to preside in every lodge, with the 
 Master of the lodge on his left hand, and to order bis grand war- 
 dens in that particular lodge. He has the right of visiting the 
 lodges and inepecting their books and mode of work as often as 
 he pleases, or if unable to do so, he may depute his grand ofiB 
 cers to act for him." We find that the mastei sand lodges are 
 under the complete control of the Grand Master at all times. 
 And this power is centered at last in one autocrat, at whose be- 
 hest the rank and file of the order must tremble and obey. And 
 the time may come when Masonic infallibility will be proclaim- 
 ed, the reins ot government seized and the cowans of the outside 
 world be forced to obey its commands. 
 
 I must pursue this phase of the subject just a little farther. It 
 Is generally thought that if one is dissatisfied he can withdraw 
 from the order and have that end the matter. Let us inquire of 
 Masonic authors and see what we can learn on this subject. 
 Chase Digest, page 78: '"A lodge exercises penal jurisuiclion 
 over ali its members, no matter where they reside, over all un 
 affiliated Masons living within its geographical jurisdiction 
 (whether the residence be temporary or permanent), over all 
 Masims living within its vicinity, but not over Masons (not its 
 members) residing in a neighboring State. Its jurisdiction can 
 extend no further than that of its own Grand Lod.ge." And on 
 pages 73 and 74, we read: "A subordinate lodge' has complete 
 Masonic jurisdiction over any and every Mason residing in its 
 vicinity though such Mason may not be a member of it, or of 
 any other lodge, and it may exercise all the rights of discipline 
 over him, the same as over one of its own members. We under, 
 stand the rule to be, that a brother (nonaffiliated) is amenable 
 for any ofiense committed against the laws of Masonry, and in 
 derogation of his obligations as a Mason to the particular lodge 
 within whose jurisdiction he resides,and within which the of- 
 fense is committed. A non-affiliated Mason still remains sub- 
 ject to the government of the order, and may be tried and 
 punished for any offense as an affiliated Mason would be by the 
 lodge within whose geographical jurisdiction he resides." 
 
14 
 
 Thus we see, that all the obligations are held to be perpetual, 
 apd no such thing as withdrawal, in the sense in which we use 
 the term ordinarily, is known to the institution, and it assumes to 
 hold penal jurisdiction overall who have ever been Masons 
 forever. So when one has been trapped there is no escape from 
 its relentless grasp until death, and tue only chance for a man 
 when he feels that the system is evil is to break his Masonic 
 obligations and throw himself on the protection of the civil law, 
 and even then its execution is often in the hands of men bound 
 by their Masonic obligations to carry out the demands of this 
 despot. Do you wonder then that Washington in view of such 
 organizations as this, said in his farewell address to his country, 
 that "All obstructions lo the -execution of the law, all combi- 
 nations and associations, under whatever plausible character, 
 with the real design to direct, control, counteract or awe the 
 regular deliberation and action of the constituted authorities, 
 are destructive to the fundamental principle, (that is obedience 
 to the established government) and of fatal tendency." And in 
 the words of the venerable Samuel D. Gretne, I now say that 
 "British tyranny never more completely swayed the destinies of 
 America, than Freemasonry does now. That ruled openly ; this 
 rules secretly. This threatens all we hold dear; our liberty of 
 speech and of conscience ; our political and relisious institu- 
 tions; our confidence in men ; our trust in God. No confidence 
 can be placed in the word of a man whilu the gross falsehoods 
 of Freemasonry pass current with him." 
 
 Let us look around us ; the secular press is completely silenced 
 on this question, ualess it is to throw more vile slang at those, 
 who seeing the danger, dare Utter a warning word. And so 
 stiong is its grasp on even the religious press that it dare not 
 open its columns to a frank discussion of the question. I appeal 
 to you followers of Jesus Christ, to lift up a standard in the name 
 of the Lord. As you love your honor, as you love your Saviour, 
 as you love your church, as you love your fellowmen that are 
 unsaved, yea, as you love your very enemies, strike 1 to break 
 the shackles that bind them in a bitter bondage. I appeal to 
 you I honest Mason that is before me, in the fear of God, and as 
 you love your native land, rise! throw oflf the yoke and assert 
 your freedom." Allow me to call your attention to the statement 
 made by Hon. W. H. Seward, one of the greatest statesmen our 
 nation has ever known, "Secret societies, sir? Before I would 
 place my hand between the hands of other men, in a secret 
 lodge, order, class, or council, and bending on my knee before 
 them enter into combination with fhem for any object, personal 
 or political, good or bad, I would pray to God that that hand and 
 that knee might be paralyzed and that Imight become an object 
 of pity and even the mockery of my fellowmen. Swear, sir! I, 
 a man, an American citizen, a Christian, swear to submit myself 
 tpthe guidance and direction of other men ; surrendering my 
 Qw,n judgment to their judgment, and my own conscience to 
 their k«jeping f No, no, sir I I know quite well the fallibility of 
 
15 
 
 mv own judgment, and my liability to fall into enor and temp- 
 Son; but my life has been spent in breaking the bonds of the 
 slavery of men, I therefore know too well the danger of confid- 
 ing power to irresponsible hands, to mate myself a willing 
 slave." 
 I now desire to notice the binding Oumraeter of Masonto oatM. 
 I need scarcely say that oaths adminibtered by unauthorized 
 parties are not legally binding, and that no action for perjury can 
 lie against the one who violates them. The most that can be 
 said of such is that they are binding on the conscience of the one 
 who takes them. Ireferyou to BouviereLaw Dirtionary, Art. 
 onOath, vol. 2. BJidGreenleafon Evidence, Sec. 338. Here are 
 two essential elements. 1. That purity and truth are contem- 
 plated as the end ; and 3. That Gk)d is understood to be a party 
 to tiie trannaction. 
 
 Hence every oath that is not in the interest of purity and truth 
 is a profanation of the ordinance and a taking of the name of 
 the Lord in vain. It stands side by side with profane swearing, 
 only with ten fold, yea, an hundredfold its dangerous tendency. 
 By referring to legal authority, we find a classification of oaths, 
 among which ate those of a promissory character, Bouviere, 
 page 353. Here you will observe that in the breaking of this 
 oath although administered by lawful authority, no action for 
 perjury can hold. Thus we see that any oath that does not in 
 its keeping promote the cause of purity, truth and justice, is 
 profanity and a sin which ought to be repented of and aban- 
 doned, and if oaths voluntarily given to the gener- 
 al government may be lawfully abandoned under cer- 
 tain circumstances, then those taken through the deception 
 of the parties administering them, ought to be abandon- 
 ed so soon as it shall appear that they are not in the interest of 
 purity, truth and justice. And if they are not necessarily bind- 
 ing when the things required are plainly set forth and specified 
 beforehand, shall we hold them as sacred when the thing is 
 carefully covered up until the obligation is upon the victim? 
 The moral sense of every man that has not been corrupted 
 by this system of false oaths revolts at such a coiiclusion. 
 God in his Divine Word has promised to be a party to, and 
 hind with his sanction the obligations which are taken in these 
 associations of men only, viz : the family, the State, and the 
 church. 
 
 The Family — "Because the Lord has been witness between 
 thee and the wife of thy youth, against whom thou hast dealt 
 treacherously, yet is she thy companion and the wife of thy cov- 
 enant." Mal.ii. 14. "What therefore God hath joined togeth- 
 er Jet no man put asunder." Hatt. zix. 6. 
 
 The State— "het every soul be subject unto the higher powers. 
 For there is no power but of God. The powers that be are 
 ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the 
 power resisteth the ordinance of God, and they that leust 
 
16 
 
 shall receive to themselves damnation. For rulen are not a ter- 
 ror of good works but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid 
 of the power? do ths,t which is good, and ihou shalthave praise 
 Of the same. For he is the minister of God to thee for good." 
 Rom x\\\. 14. 
 
 The Ghur(A.— "Upon this rock I will build my church, and the 
 gates of bell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto 
 thee the kej s of the kingdom of heaven, and whatsoever thou 
 Shalt bind on earth shalt be bound in heaven, and whatsoever 
 thou Shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." Matt. xvi. 
 18, 19. And even in these' there may be circumstances where 
 Gud will release an individual from hid oblisaiiorg: In 
 the family for adultery; in the State for despotism; in 
 the church for disloyalty to Christ and the pure doc- 
 trine of the Word. Aa to those who have exercised the 
 right in the church, Luther is a notable example; and among 
 those who have exercised it in the State, is the "Father of our 
 Country," George Washington, one whom all love to honor. He 
 had not only on himself the common obligation of citizen- 
 ship, but the special obligation of an officer in the British Gov- 
 ernment. We hearno cry of "perjured villain" concerning him, 
 although he had violated bis most solemn obligation of fealty 
 to the throne of a lawfully constituted government. Why did 
 he take this step, aad why do we justify him in it? Hedid not 
 take it because taxation without representation would have 
 materially injured him persona ly. On the contrary the proba- 
 bilities were ihat it would be to his present injury to do so. He 
 took it because he saw tbere a despotic principle asserted, that 
 menaced the liberties and happiness of his fellowmen, and we 
 justify him in his course; and we want to think as we see him 
 bowing in prayer alone in the snow at Valley Forge, his whole 
 army aln>ost in mutiny, with famine staring him in the face, 
 that the blsssing of heaven rested upon him while he poured out 
 his burdened sjul to God who has said, "I will not hold him . 
 guiltless that takes my name in vain." And yet this heinous 
 system of which I have shown you the true character, its bright, 
 and plfusible side, which its wise ones thought would bear in- 
 spection, this despotism of darkest kind, based on error and 
 fostered by deception, has the effrontery to brand as perjured 
 any man whose conscience will not let him abide by its unlaw- 
 ful and blasphemous obligations. What does the Bible say of 
 such oaths as Freemasonry imposes on the candidate for its mys- 
 teries : "And if a soul swear, pronouncing with his lips to do 
 evil, or todo good, whatsoever it be that a men shall pronounce 
 wita an oath, and it be hid from him, when he knoweth of it 
 then shall he be guilty in one of these. And it shall be when 
 he shall be guilty in one of these things, that he shall confess 
 that he hath sinned in that thing." Lev. v. 45. Here we have 
 the Divine liberation. He shall confess that he has sinned in 
 taking it, and of course it is of no avail that you confess unless 
 you abandon the sin. Dr. Nast (>ays, "An oath which promises 
 
ir 
 
 the perpetration of crime, cannot be obli{s;atory in the sight of 
 God." Oom. page 385. I here declare that Masonic oaths do 
 promise the perpetration of crime by making its adherent the 
 acomplice ol another's guilt. 
 
 I hive glioma ia a farmar part of my discourae that there is no 
 way of peacefuily severiag oar connection with the order, that 
 it mast be d»ae with violence, as tlie system assumes to hold 
 penal jurisdiction 07er one ttiat has erer taken its obligition for 
 his whole life. Ooyou ask what does this penal jurisdiction 
 mean? It surely does not mean that it will take him up and 
 try him for immoralities, for what does it care how many 
 immoralities a man is guilty of, when he has said he 
 is no friend to Masonry On the other hand you will find the 
 order gloating over the immoralities of the class. Is the right of 
 expulsion what is contemplated in this jurisdiction? What 
 would a man of that class, who has seen its deformity and left 
 it because he fell it evil, care for expulsion ? He would rather 
 glory in it. It is something more than that aa Masons well 
 understand. 
 
 I will read you one more extract to bring before your minds 
 cluarly the position in which a man finds himself when he can 
 no longer sanction such a system conscientiously, when his 
 connection is as ompletely severed as it is possible for it to be. 
 Speaking of those that are expelled, Mackey says, page 147, 
 "He Is at once as completely divested of his Masonic character 
 as though he had never been admitted, so far as regards his 
 rights, while his duties and obligations remain as firm as ever, 
 it oeing impossible for any human power to cancel them." 80 
 when you cease to be a warm aud active supporter, you have 
 violated your obligation just as much as though you had reveal- 
 ed all the secrets of the system. But God is no party to any 
 such system of oaths. Ha has never promised to do the dirty- 
 work for every vile system, and one is not only freed from them, 
 but IS in duty bound to let the world know of the snare that is 
 laid to entrap the liberties of men, and our country, and effectu- 
 ally destroy the religion of Christ. 
 
 Said a prominent minister of the Des Moines Conference to 
 me, 'Before I joined the Masons I did not believe that the expo- 
 sitions vrere true; but after I was initiated I found that they 
 v®"^®' A f?. .y?' ^* ^y'^^ ^y maWng the outside world believe a 
 ne. And It is m vain that a minister quietly quits afflliatine- 
 he IS still as great a strength to the instituiion as though he wis 
 an active member, and even greater, for I never knew one to try 
 todetend without doing more harm than good to his cause. It will 
 not bear agitation. For nearly one year and a half did I quit 
 affiliating, and expressed my disapprobation of the system to 
 the Master of the lodge where I lived, and I found myself all at 
 once and very unexpectedly defending it. An Anti-mason 
 lecturer came to the village and told the truth concernine the 
 . obligations. A prominent Mason who was present arose and 
 
18 
 
 said the lecturer lied; and then referring to me as being a good 
 Mason said, "Would as good a mau as he is take such oaths as 
 this man says?" This was the last feather which bioke the 
 camel's back. To be dragged to the support of a system which 
 my very soul abhorred, was more than I could bear. They 
 expected to he able to keep me still, and thus make me assent 
 to the lie. This act of despotism was too much ; I defined my 
 position and in doing so necessarily bore my testimony to the 
 substantial correctness of the expositions. 
 
 Now come with me and let us take a short walk through some 
 •of these so-called glorious secret paths, and let us see what 
 Bowers we lind blooming by the way. Do not be angry, brother 
 Mason. God, and this act to try to seize and bind my conscience, 
 has unlocked the gate, and swung it wide open ; for was I not 
 told that these great and valuable secrets never had been reveal- 
 ed ? and that there was nothing here which would conflict with 
 my duty to God and to mj Country ? Was I not told that a man 
 could not be a good Mason, and not be a Christian? And did I 
 not find Christ excluded? Was I not t')ld that my liberties 
 would be enhanced? And did I not find myself under a despot- 
 ism more absolnte than that of the Czar of Russia? If I have 
 been deceived into bondage you must not blame me for pointing 
 out the rocks to other mariners who sail these seas. I now pro- 
 pose to consider some points in Masonic oaths as they were 
 sworn to before the Courts of Rhode Island by the Grand Lodge 
 of that State. I might not have done this here had not the 
 liberties of speech been menaced by the craft in our very midst. 
 
 We notice in the first degree the candidate is sworn to "always 
 hail, forever conceal and lever reveal, any of the secret arts, 
 parts or points of the mysteries o.f Freemasonry." In the second 
 degree, in addition to the above he promises to "answer all 
 lawful signs and tokens, which may be given or sent unto me 
 from a true and lawful fellow craft, or from the body of a just 
 ,and lawful lodge of such, if within the first angle or square of 
 my walk." In the third degree he promises, "To keep his 
 "brother's secrets, as his own, murder and treason only excepted. 
 That he will not wrong a brother, or deprive him of his good 
 name, or suffer it ' to be done by others if in my power to pre- 
 vent it. That he will not violate the chastity of a Master Mason's 
 wife, daughter, sister or mother, knowing them to be such." I 
 now desire to read an article on "Masonic Chastity," by Emma 
 A. Wallace. "When you take your seat in a handsomely furnish- 
 ed ladies' car, and casting your eye upward you read on a card 
 near the top of the door, these words in plain English, 'Passen- 
 gers are not allowed to smoke in this car,' does it strike you as 
 anything unreasonable? If you are much of a traveler, and 
 perhaps a smoker too, it does not, and gives you no uneasiness, 
 for you very well know that attached to all trains is a 'smokfaig 
 car,'where^ou can smoke and clievr and spit without fear of in- 
 terruption. Snt we will suppose <jba.t the writer is a foreigner. 
 
19 
 
 entirely ignorant of the habits and customs of American people- 
 That card unmistakably informs him of three facts ; first, that 
 Americans smoke; next, that they would smoke in this car if 
 they were not prohibited ; and lastly, that railroad companies 
 understand their business and provide the American public 
 with accommodations for that purpose. If smoking were not 
 tolerated upon railroads the card would read in plain terms, 
 'Positively no smoking,' and if tobacco were not used in Amer- 
 ica the card would not be there at all. Again, we suppose that 
 the traveler visits the rooms of a Young Men's Christian Associ- 
 ation, and on a card against the wall reads in large letters, 
 'Positively no swearing allowed in these rooms on the Sabbath 
 day.' Monstrous as the thing may seem, the foreigner would 
 be forced to the conclusion that our young men were frightfully 
 given to swearing, to that extent that those who pass for the 
 best of them would swear in these very rooms if they had the 
 liberty. Moreover this card says as plain as A, B, C, "Upon 
 week days you can do as you please.' Our traveler would at 
 once set American morals down at a shockingly low standard. 
 We will suppose again that he visits one of our churches, and 
 finds that a'young man is about to be ordained to preach the 
 Gospel, and in the ordination ceremonies nears the offlciatinj; 
 minister read from the discipline the following among other 
 questions: 'Brother, do you faithfully promise that you will not 
 violate the chastity of a brother Methodist's mother, wife, sister 
 or daughter, you knowing them to be such.' The visitor would 
 begin to think America was not a safe place for ladies to travel 
 in, and would feel glad that he had left his female relatives at 
 home. Is there a young man about to enter (he ministiy who 
 would not be insulted, and a congregation which would not be 
 outraged by such a proceeding ? We will now change the hour 
 from daytime to 'low twelve' at night, and shift our scenery 
 from a church to an 'upper room,' curtained and guarded. We 
 look in and see a number of men with queer little aprons on 
 The burning candles make the room sufflcieni.ly light so thatwe 
 can clearly see a man kneeling before an altar, a man with a 
 bandage over his eyes and a rope around his body, which is 
 naked enough to shame a set of Digger Indians. His hands are 
 placed upon an open Bible and we distinctly hear him repeat- 
 mgafter the Master, 'Furthermore do Ipromise and swear that 
 I will not violate the chastity of a Master Mason's wife, mother 
 sister or daughter, I knowing them to be such, nor allow it to 
 be done by others it in my power to prevent it.' The only dif- 
 terence in these two pictures, is, that the first is a supposed case 
 and the last is a real one, and is a scene in a Master Mason's 
 Lodge. Do not squirm my brother Mason, we have all been 
 there. Every man, every minister, who has gone as far as the 
 third degree in Masonry, has been led around in this shameful 
 plight, and has repeated these very words. How many of them 
 in decent clothing would do the same thing ina public audience 
 and in the presence of their female friends? What does this 
 
30 
 
 part of a Master Mason's obligation mean ? what does it carry 
 in its face t Exactly the same principle as the card above the 
 car door in every particular. 'You smoke,' says the car to the 
 public, 'and this car must protect itself accordingly.' ' We know 
 your tricks,' says Masonry to 'the poor, blind candidate,' 'and 
 merely from personal consideration are compelled to enforce 
 certain limits.' 'We take no account,' says Masonry 'of our 
 neighbor's wife, mother, sister or daughter, if he is not a Master 
 Mason, and this obligation is simply a license to that eflfect* 
 'This thing is actually humiliating,' replies the candidate, 'I am 
 accustomed to perfect liberty in this little particular, and will 
 hobble myself with no such restriction.' 'Oh,' replies Masonry, 
 complacently rubbing its ancient hands, so to speak, 'this beau- 
 tiful arrangment leaves you quite a margin, my dear sir; plenty 
 of room outside of our immaculate brotherhood, and by the pro- 
 visioD, knowing them to be such, you have a considerable field 
 for operation outside.' Masons tell us they confer certain de- 
 grees upon women for protection. Protection from whom? 
 From Masons ? It certainly looks like it. A friend of ours once 
 said, and so say we, that 'A. Masoniq lodgti is a standing insult 
 to every virtuous woman in the community,' and yet this thing, 
 this brazen syren with her lewd suggestion, harlot favors, is 
 f oised upon the world as the great promoter of virtue and mor- 
 ality, the twin sister of Christianity. We pity the virtue that 
 must be trusted to this outrage upon common decency for safe- 
 ty, we blush for the morality born of such a parent, and nursed 
 in such a cradle ; and God help the Christianity that would sis- 
 ter such a twin." 
 
 Before I close I desire to notice briefly the testimony of some 
 of A.merica'3 noble sons on the subject of Masonry. 
 
 President Finuey said, "God demands and the world has a 
 right to expect, that the church will take due action and bear a 
 truthful testimony in respect to this institution. She cannot 
 no«r innocently hold her peace. The light has come. Fidelity 
 to God and to the souls of men requires that the church, which 
 ia the light of the world, should speak out and should take such 
 action as will plainly reveal her views of the compatibility or 
 incompatibility of Freemasonry with the Christian religion." 
 
 Rev. Nathaniel Colver, D. D., in a letter dated June 15, 1867, 
 states, that when taking the obligation in the Royal Arch de- 
 gree, when he came to the words "Murder and treason not 
 excepted," he rose from his knees, and in the face of threats of 
 ills life he left the lodgcto return to it no more. 
 
 George Wtishington in a letter dated Sept. 25, 1788, speaks of 
 his illnes'i, "which allows me to add little more than thanks for 
 your kind wishes and favorable sentiments excpt to correct an 
 error you hive run into of my presiding over the English 
 lodges in this couatry. The fact is, I preside over non@; nor 
 hava I been in one more than once or twice withio the last thir- 
 ty years." 
 
31 
 
 President James-Madison said, "I never was a Mason, and no 
 one perhaps could be more a stranger to the principles, rites 
 and fruits of the institution. From the number and character of 
 those who now support the charges against Masonry, I cannot 
 doubt that it is at least susceptible of abuses outweighing any 
 advantages promised by its patrons." 
 
 Daniel Webster said in a letter dated Boston, November 20, 
 1835, "I have no hesitation in saying that however unobjection- 
 able may have been the original objects of the institution, or 
 however pure may be the motives and purposes of the individu- 
 al members, and notwithstanding the many great and good 
 men who have from time to time belonged to the order, yet, 
 nevertheless, it is an institution which in my judgment is essen- 
 tially wrong in the principle of its formation, that from its very 
 nature it is liable to great abuses; that among the obligations 
 which are found to be imposed upon its members there are such 
 as are entirely incompatible with the duty of good cUizens, and 
 that all secret associations, the members of which take upon 
 themselves extraordinary obligations to one another, and are 
 bound together by secret oaths, are naturally sources of jeal- 
 ouMy and just alarm to others, are especially unfavorable to 
 harmony and mutual confidence among men living together 
 under popular institutions, and are dangerous to the general 
 cause of civil liberty and good government. Under the influ- 
 ence of this conviction it is my opinion that the future admin- 
 istration of all such oaths and the formation of all such obliga- 
 tions should be prohibited by law." 
 
 Governor John Hancock said, "I am opposed to all secret 
 societies." 
 
 President John Q. Adams said, "Secrets written in blood 
 should be revealed ; a tree that bears such fruit should be hewn 
 down. No butcher would mutilate the carcass of a bullock or 
 a swine, as the Masonic candidate swears C)csent to the mutila- 
 tion of his own, for the breaking of an absurd and senseless 
 secret. It is an oath of which a common cannibal would be 
 ashamed." 
 
 I would like to have developed concerning Masonry its influ- 
 ence on governments and courts, the blasphemous character of 
 its titles, and its deception concerning its antiquity, but my 
 time has not permitted. And now in conclusion I acknowledge 
 the charge of "small calibre," and "'narrow mind," and I hope 
 if I have missed the way of truth some brother of larger 
 "calibre" and broader "mind" will restore me to the path of 
 right, in love, by showing where my error lies. I have no per- 
 sonal enmity against any Mason. I number among them some 
 I hold dear, and I only long to see you freed from this foul de- 
 ceptive system, and brought to the liberty of the sons of God 
 and joined to the great brotherhood in Christ, that is wide 
 
enough in Its provigions to take into its membership even the 
 poor, the lame, the blind, the deaf, women and all ; and as you 
 proceed to erect a spiritual building may it be founded on the 
 "only name given under heaven among men whereby we must 
 be saved." 
 
SERMON 
 
 Odd-Fellowship 
 
 AND OTHBR 
 
 SECRET SOCIETIES, 
 
 BY Rev. J. Sarver. 
 
 De)ivered in the Evangelical Lutheran Church, 
 Leechburg, Pa., Dec, 19th, 187S. 
 
 PUBUSHBD BY REQ0RST. 
 
 CHICAQO, ILLINOIS: 
 
 EZRA A. COOK. PUBLISHER. 
 
 188D. 
 
SERMON 
 
 — ON— 
 
 SECRET SOCIETIES, 
 
 —CHIEFLY ON— 
 
 ODD-FELLOV/SHIP, 
 
 By RET. J'. SABVSR. 
 
 "Be ye not oneiiially yoked together with unbelievers ; for what fellow- 
 Bhlp hath rlghteousDess with unrlghteoDsneBS? andwhtit commanioa hath 
 light with darkness? And what concord hath Cbiist with Belial? or what 
 part hath he that beliereth with an infldelr And what agreement bath the 
 temple of God with idols? For ye are the temple of the living God; as God 
 hathsaid, I will dwell in them and walk in hem; and I will be their God, 
 and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and 
 be ye separate, saith the Lordf and touch not the unclean thing; and I will 
 receive yon." SCor.vl: 14-17. 
 
 The Lord forbids us to say "peace, peace ; n'hea there is no 
 peace." Truth and error can never be reconciled. Between 
 righteousness and unrighteousness, light and darkness, Christ 
 and Satan,there must needs be discord and opposition. Christian- 
 ity as the only true religion, tolerates no system of false re- 
 ligion, be it heathenism or any other form of infidelity. False 
 gods, false doctrines and false worship of all kinds, the true 
 God must condenmand resisttothe very end. And herequires 
 his people to do the same. Hence, Paul here warns Christians 
 against having any communion with infidels in their errors and 
 unbelief. As temples of the living God, they must keep them- 
 selves pure and free from all "pollutions of idols." With 
 heathen unbelievers, deists, and all deniers of Christ,they must 
 avoid agreement in spiritual things. The word of God allows 
 no religious fellowship with any who worship false gods, or who 
 worship the true God in a false manner. 
 
 We propose to show that certain se&ret satieties teaeh a fdlM 
 
religion, and that union with them, is forbidden on account of their 
 false doctrines. Among these, we class Masonry,Odd-fellowship, 
 the Knights of Pythias, the Grange, and othtrs. 
 
 That all these, whether of earlier or later origin, are alike 
 anti-Christian in their character, influence and tendency, is 
 evident to thoughtful men, who have weighed the subject 
 properly. To know them aright is to condemn them. To ex- 
 pose them is a solemn duty which we owe to Christ and his 
 cause. This is a great moral question that must be met. All 
 evangelical churches and ministers, in fidelity to their Master, 
 will have to take their stand openly, fully and firmly against 
 these secret orders. May God speed the day ! 
 
 Beginning with Odd-fellowsMp and dwelling on it chiefiyj 
 let us now, in the light of Holy Writ, examine its reUgious 
 doctrines and principles, as set forth in its own standard books 
 and documents. We propose to deal with principles, not with 
 persons ; to discuss, not Odd-fellows, but Odd-fellowship as a 
 tystem. It is not our province to judge its members, but its 
 principles we may criticize and judge according to their merits. 
 The founders and framers of this society are chiefly responsible 
 for its evil character and fruits. The great mass of its common 
 members have had no hand in making it what it is. They have 
 simply organized lodges on the foundation laid by others. 
 They are to blame also, in proportion as they neglect to examine 
 the principles of the order and thus fail to know what they are, 
 or as they wilfully and knowingly endorse its false doctrines. 
 
 It is, of course, the duty of all, before joining any society, 
 to study and understand its priuciplus, but our judgment of 
 ordinary members of this order, must be tempered with charity 
 because the system has been devised and drawn up with great 
 care and cunning. Truth and error have been artfully com- 
 mingled, thus presenting a strange mixture of good and bad 
 in its compcsition. Its teachings are varied to suit men of all 
 creeds or of no creed. Here is somethmg for Christians and 
 there something for deists, infidels and idolaters. And all this 
 is set forth in such smooth and plausible terms as to remind us 
 of Satan, "transformed into an angel of light." No wonder that 
 honest, unsuspecting members are deceived, for it is enough 
 
''to deceive, if possible, the very elect." Bence we pity, rather 
 than blame those who are unwittingly caught in this net. But 
 the more carefully we examine its religious doctrines, the more 
 clearly and fully do its unchristian sentiments come into view, 
 until the true nature of Odd-fellowship can no longer be 
 mistaken, and the supposed "angel of light," proves to be an 
 angel of darkness. 
 
 Let us then proceed with our investigation and see what kind 
 of an institution it is as represented in its own books'and papers. 
 ••The Odd-fellows' Improved Pocket Manual," by Rev. A. B- 
 Orosh, * is endorsed and recommended by sixty seven Right 
 Worthy Grand Representatives ofthe Grand Lodge of the United 
 States, ''is acomplete and faithful history of the principles, 
 instructions, work and organization of the order." In addi- 
 tion to this it received "similar endorsements by various Grand 
 and Past Grand Ma«ters,Grand Scribes and Grand Secretaries," 
 all of whom testify in substance that the Manual is ''by far the 
 best book on Odd-f^lowthip eoer published." These endorsements 
 are found on pages 7 and 8 of this book. Our exposure will bs 
 based chiefly on quotations from the Manual. We shall also 
 quote from "The Odd-fellows' Pocket Companion," from a 
 "Digest of Laws" prepared by the Grand Lodge of the United 
 States and from another prepared by the G. L. of Pa.,and from two 
 or three journals called"The Heart and Hand,"the "Odd-fellow," 
 and the "Lodge Bulletin." In quoting from these different 
 documents; the page and date will be given for reference by 
 those who wish to read and examine for themselves. 
 
 I. Odd-fellowship is or teaches a religion. 
 
 You will find its creed on page 114 of the Manual or 361 of 
 the U. 8. Digest. The candidate f'>r admission into the order, 
 is asked "Do you believe in the existence of a supreme, intelli- 
 gent Being, the Creator and preserver of the universe ?" An 
 atheist, one who denies that there is a God, cannot be received. 
 Belief in some sort of a Supreme Being is necessary to member- 
 
 ♦From "Beart and Band," of Jan. sad, 1876, we quote as follows : ''Rev. 
 Bro. Groeh, is a member of Donegal Lodge, Marietta, Penn. He is a clefgy- 
 inaii of tlie JTnivef'MHst Olmfch." No evangelical clergyman coald write or 
 endorse a book lilce the "Manaal." 
 
ship in the order. The Christian church requires faith in th« 
 Triune Ocd, Father, Son and Holy Ghost, as set forth in the 
 Apostles' Creed. The one is a creed no less than the other- 
 Odd-fellowship therefore has a religion, because it ha« a reilig- 
 ioworeed. 
 
 The order makes use of the Bible in its own war and for its 
 own peculiar purposes. The Manual says, on page 232, that 
 "no lodge can be held without it." Prom the Bible, it derives 
 and pwverts, as we shall presently see, various emblems, lessons 
 and precepts, including the ten commandments. Moreover 
 the order has its ritual, its order of worship, its prayers, 
 ceremonies intended for funerals, dedications and instsbllationa, 
 and for opening and closing the lodge meetings. 
 
 It has its altars, its High Priests and Grand High Priests, its 
 Ohaplains and Grand Chaplains for the purpose of carrying oat 
 its ritual. The order also teaches a method of salvation of its 
 own devising to which your attention will soon be directed. 
 All these things are manifestly parts and appliances of religion. 
 Any society which adopts and uses a ritual, an order of worship 
 as Odd'fe^lowship does, thereby alone virtually adopts a re- 
 ligion. ' 
 
 The Manual clearly contradicts the idea that the order Is 
 simply, as some maintain, an association for mutual aid and 
 relief. On page 47 and 48 occur these words : "The order as 
 founded by Bro. Wildey, was (at first) simply a ArcnMcme institu- 
 tion, — its main obj ects were to relieve brethren,bury the dead and 
 care for the widow and orphan. But gradually there were in- 
 fused into its lectures and charges much moral and (unsectarian) 
 rdigiovM ingtrwslion; and at each revision these principles were 
 increased and deepened and strengthened, until its beneficial 
 and relief measures from being end», have become mean* to a 
 higher amd greater end. • * * His (Wlldey's) cherished aims 
 and details were all retained, but directed beyond the merely 
 social and physical, to the moral and epiritual » * » * • 
 and lead man to a true appreciation of his whole dwty, whether to 
 Ood, hiimtAf, or to his brother man." On page 110 we learn that the 
 "peeimia/ry benefits" of the order are "hardly a tithe (tenth) of 
 its aims and objects." On page 261, "that those who unite with 
 
Us * * for the loaves and dsbes have mistaken their aim." 
 On page 161 we find this language — "so may our light aid in 
 dissipating the ignorance which yet obscures those true relations 
 that bind man to Ms Creator and to his fellow men." On page 869 
 the order is represented as "teaeking our duty to God, to our 
 fellow-men, and to ourselves." The "Odd-fellow," May ISIl, 
 says, "It is the great aim of the brotherhood of the Odd-fellows, 
 to give to their adherents a correct understanding of the relation 
 betieeen Ood and man." This is the very office and work of re- 
 ligion, and the Bible itself aims at nothing more. The Lodge 
 Bulletin, July 1871, says in plain words; "Odd-fellowship has a 
 morality ,a religion or theology."* Many more passages of the 
 same import might also be added from the Manual, but those 
 above given will serve to excite further inquiry, and thus bring 
 to light other proofs from this and other sources. A compre- 
 hensive view of the nature, scope and design of its teachings 
 must convince any honest mind that Odd-fellowship inculcates 
 a religion, "the universal religion of nature," which its mem 
 bers are urged to embrace and practice. To this end it adopts 
 the shrewd policy of allowing no liberty in the lodge, to dis- 
 cuss or dissent from its doctrines, thus giving the leaven a chance 
 to work silently and freely, "till the whole is leavened." 
 
 This religion is a human device of such a form and spirit as 
 to suit men of all nations and faiths — Jews, Mohammedans, 
 heathens, deists, infidels, unlversalists, materialists, rationalists 
 and errorists of every shade. See Manual p. 873 — 388. The 
 Pocket Companion p. 809 says ; "Jew or Gentile, Catholic or 
 Protestant, is as such, welcome to our lodge." No unbelief 
 short of Atheism can exclude men from the order, whose re- 
 ligion is loose and liberal enough to embrace them all on equal 
 terms. 
 
 II. Odd-fellowship teaches s, false religion. 
 
 This pr-int has just been indicated in general terms. Let ua 
 now examine in detail, some features of this false religion. 
 
 1. 0. F. denies the Lord Jesius Christ. Odd-fellowship claims 
 
 •"The Heart and Hand, "Jan itSd, 1876, bas an article entitled, "Our Be- 
 Uglon ;" the writer speaka of •'•the ttnimtnal religion of nature taught in our 
 temple* ■" 
 
8 
 
 as one of Us fundamental principles, "the brotherhood of man," 
 and professes to make the order, ."universal as the family of 
 man on earth," which is a false profession however. * To this 
 end it needs a platform, so broad, so latitudinarian, as to suit 
 the utmost laxity and diversity of faith. To this end it receives 
 into fellowship all who believe in a Supreme Being of some 
 kind, without defining particularly who or what that Supreme 
 Being is. By this happy device all can be accommodated, and 
 no offence is given to Jew or Gentile or any one else. Faith in 
 Chrisc is not made a condition of membership, because such a 
 condition would offend and exclude from the order all who de- 
 ny him. But such a sad breach in the brotherhood must by all 
 means be avoided. Odd-fellowship must stand as it is, no mat- 
 ter what follows. Hence Ghrist it oJieiaMy omd intentionally shut 
 out, in order that his deniers and enemies may be induced to come «n. 
 
 Odd-fellowship claim* to be "unsectarian" in its religious 
 character. That is, it professes to show equal favor and honor 
 to all religions, whether Jewish, Mohammedan, heathen or 
 Christian. See Manual, p. 376 — 388 ; Pocket Companion 127— 
 129. It regards these religions as so many sects and makes 
 Christianity no exception. From its stand-point, therefore, 
 Christ is the founder of a sect ! And since it cannot recognize 
 any "sectarian distinctions," it refuses to recognise Christ, In- 
 deed, it could not consistently recognize Christ, as God, any 
 more than it could Moses, or Mohammed, or Zoroaster, or Con- 
 fucius. Hence it ignores him entirely in his mediatorial 
 character, and thus virtually arrays itself against him, "He that 
 is rwt with me," says Jesus, "is against me; and he that gathereth 
 not with me, scattereth abroad." Not to confess Christ is in 
 effect, to deny him. 
 
 Thus we see that the denial or non-recognition of Christ, en- 
 ters into the very nature and basis of this societj. It cannot 
 do otherwise than deny him, without a change in its fundamen- 
 tal principles. The fact is, that the whole system of Odd. 
 
 *See Manaal p 110 139 Sua. This claim is coDtinaally pat fortli, and yet 
 this order excludes tlie poor, the infirm, ttie aged, minors and black people 
 and women alao, except from the tide dtgrees of Rehelcah. Tire otner 
 eocieties likeviriee exclude these different classes, consisting mainly ol those 
 wbo stand in special need of aid and relief. 
 
fellowship is so planned and framed.from the beginning to end, 
 as to leave no room or chance for Christ to be admitted. 
 
 This necessarily leads to the exclusion of Christ from its 
 ritual, its order of worship, its prayers. The Manual contains 
 many forms of prayer for different purposes and occasions. We 
 have examined them carefully, but have not found one in which 
 Christ is acknowledged — not one in which God is approached 
 through his merits and mediation. And the Chaplain is pos- 
 itively forbidden to use any but the given forms. Manual p. 
 304, 360, 461 and 514. Ofp. 514, it says ; "It is optional with the 
 lodge whether to use them or not, Imf no otiiera can be Icmfidly 
 svbititvied." The Pocket Companion p. 166 says, it is the duty 
 of the Chaplin, "to open and close the meetings with prayer, 
 using none other than the prescribed form.'" 
 
 The Pa., Digest p. 348 says, "if any prayer be oflfered, the 
 following form must be used." The U. S. Digest p. 341 says the 
 same thing in substance. Hence the law of the order pro. 
 hibits the use of any prayers, but those which it officially pre- 
 scribes. Thus it excludes Christ from its Ritual by its official 
 act and cmtTumty. This prepares the way for any Jew, heathen, 
 deist, or infidel to act as chaplain, if he is only a "moral man." 
 See Pocket Companion, p. 166. The truth is, unbelievers alone 
 are suited for that position. We are at a loss to see how an 
 orthodox Christian, who knows the Bible method of prayer, 
 can accept the office, or perform the duties of chaplain in these 
 societies. 
 
 What judgment then,must we pass upon a Ritual fi:om which 
 Christ is excluded; or upon a method of prayer which ignores 
 him as the only mediator between &od and man ? Are not all 
 men by nature children of sin and wrath, under the guilt, 
 curse and penalty of divine law f And how dare they approach 
 the holy and righteous God, without Christ to atone and 
 intercede for them f Jesus has plainly declared, "I am the way, 
 the truth and the life ; no man cometh unto the Father but by 
 me." "Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will 
 give it you." No prayer is therefore acceptable to God, unless 
 
10 
 
 offered in firm reliance upon Christ's person and work.* The 
 Holy So iptores teach in positive terms, that other foundation 
 can no man lay, that there is none other name under heaven, giv- 
 en amongst men, whereby we can be heard, pardoned and saved. 
 
 To rely on anything but the blood of Christ, in our prayers, 
 is to offer "strange Are" on God's altar, to render unto him a 
 false worship and thereby provoke his anger against us. When 
 the two sons of Aaron "offered strange Are unto the Lord," 
 He struck them dead instantly for their rash presumption. He 
 thus made them an example and a warning to others for all 
 time to come. Are not men guilty of like sin and folly, when 
 they offer to God Christless prayers and depend upon their own 
 works and virtues for acceptance ? Yet Odd fellowship pre- 
 scribes such prayers in its Ritual, and forbids the use of any 
 others. Thus it institutes a false worship, which God hates 
 and condemns. 
 
 3. Odd-fellowship teaches aahation, by worJet. 
 
 The word of God teaches very clearly and explicitly, that 
 salvation is bestowed upon us as a free gift, through faith in 
 Christ, without any merit or worthiness of our own. "By grace 
 ye are saved through faith ; and that not of yourselves, it is the 
 gift of God. Not of works, lest any man should boast." The 
 Gospel, from flrst to last, is filled with this precious doctrine, 
 which is held by all evangelical churches. 
 
 But the order teaches the very opposite doctrine. According 
 to the Manual, page 156 and 157, "the charitable (who minister 
 to the needy and suffering) live with a conscience void of offense 
 toward God and man * * * and their departure from ei.rth 
 is but a translation to a blissful immortality." On page 257 and 
 258 this language occurs: "Let us not forget that while 
 
 *The Lord's Prayer is no exception to th e principle. That prayer la Inten- 
 ded exclusively for Christians, ( Luke 11 : 1 ) who know that God is their JVitt- 
 tf^only through faith in Christ, (Gal 3; 26,)who expect to be heard only as 
 they pray in Christ's »a?n«, John, 16:23. Moreover the matter and spirit of 
 that prayer are essentially Chriptian. Hence Christie^ as he intends^ virtu- 
 ally in the Lorcfe Prayer^ which is thus offered in his name by his own cis- 
 clples. But these secret societies intentionally and ofllclally exclude Christ 
 from the only forms which they allow to be used. Nor Is there a single 
 word in all their instructions pointing men to Chr'st as the only way to God's 
 favor, wh le every page of the Gospel thus points men to Christ. There la 
 so analogy at all between the two cases, and those who favor ChrisUesv 
 prayers uid no refuge in the Lord's Prayer. 
 
11 
 
 we cultivate the perfection of our fraternal duties, we shall im- 
 prove ia the knowledge of Deity, of our duty to hiu., to our 
 neighbor and to ourselves ; Friendship will bind us together. 
 Trmth will direct us, and love will make our labors easy ; so 
 that, at the last, when we are summoned from the terrestrial 
 lodges to the Grand Lodge celestial, we may leave form and 
 ceremony \>eia.iiA,find owr work approved, and, as the mysteries 
 of Seamen, are unveiled to our admiring vision, we may arrive 
 at its perfection and enjoy its benefits througliout a^ges eternal." 
 The Pocket Companion, page 27, says, the instructions or doc- 
 trines of the order, "lead him (the Odd-fellow) to obedience of 
 the commands of his divine Maker, in wJiick Tie cannot fail to be 
 blessed in life, death, and eternity." On paee 41 and 42 we read— 
 "He who practices this charity and teaches it to others, shall be 
 crowned with honor, and come down to the grave in peace, 
 with thefidl assurance of a hUuedfviwe." 
 
 In these and many other passages of like meaning. Odd. 
 fellows are plainly taught that they can save themselves by 
 their own works and virtues. This, of course, applies to all the 
 members of the order. No matter of what creed or character 
 they may be; whether Jews, Gentiles, Turks or infidels; if they 
 practice the principles and perform the duties just mentioned, 
 they (.hall "come down to the grave in peace, with a fuU asswr- 
 anceof a blessed futwre," "their departure from earth is but a 
 translation to a blitiful immortaUty." 
 
 Odd-fellowship here teaches that men "cannot fail to be blesned 
 in life, death, and eternity through obedience of the commands ot 
 their Divine Maker." Thus it perverts the ten commandments 
 from their proper use and defeats the main object for which 
 they were given. Paul says, "the law" is intended to be "our 
 school-master to bring vs to Christ." It does this by giving 
 us a "knowledge of sin," guilt and misery, by nature, and m k- 
 ing us feel our need of a divine Saviour. God designs the moral 
 law to lead men to Christ. But the order makes use of it to 
 lead men away from Christ, by teaching them to depend upon 
 tteir own works for salvation. 
 
 Works done in the name and for the sake of Christ, it is true, 
 God approves and rewards in heaven, in the case of those whose 
 title to heaven rest on other grounds. Works of this kind. 
 
however can be wrought only by OJwistians already justified by 
 faith. The apostle says, "whatsobver is not of faith, is sin." 
 "Without me, "says Jesus," ye can do nothing." But even such 
 works simply confer upon those who are saved by grace, a high- 
 er degree of happiness, than they would otherwise have enjoyed 
 in heaven. Salvation is in all cases the free gilt of God, and 
 the only eflfect or value of good works is to make salvation 
 more blessed. But Oddfellowship cannot possibly perform 
 works acceptable to Gtoa, because it has nothing to do with 
 Christ or with faith in him, as we have already shown. 
 
 8. It teaches that Qod vAU give "eternal Ufe" to all men, as hit 
 natural or oreaied ehild/ren. 
 
 If this doctrine conflicts in any degree with the doctrine of 
 salvation by works just considered, we leave the order, which 
 teaches both doctrines, to reconcile them. God has two kinds 
 of cbildren, natural and spiritual. His natural children are 
 such by creatioli and embrace the whole human family. His 
 spiritual children are such by regeneration and faith in Christ. 
 The latter only are heirs of salvation or eternal life. This 
 distinction between men, who have G-od as their common 
 Maker, is clearly taught and recognized throughout the Bible. 
 Our first parents made in the divine image were, before the 
 fall, the true spiritual children of God by creation. But through 
 and since the fall, the spiritual character and relations of men 
 are entirely changed. God is no longer by creation their 
 spiritual Father, nor does he own them as his spiritual children. 
 On the contrary, all men are now born in sin and "by nature the 
 children of wrath," under the power of Satan and subject to 
 etet-nal death, until they are "born again," as Jesus says. Ac 
 cording to John, "as many as received him, (Christ) to them 
 he gave power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe 
 on his name ; which were born not of blood, nor of the will of the 
 fiesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." And St. Paul says, 
 "Ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus." It 
 is therefore necessary to salvation, that the natural children of 
 God by creation, become his spiritual children by the new birth 
 from above. Otherwise, says Jesus, they "cannot enter into the 
 kingdom of God." 
 
 But Odd-fellowship entirely ignores original nio, total deprav- 
 ity, the necessity of regeneration, repentance, faith in Christ and 
 
18 
 
 ■Wictiflcatipn by the Hojy Ghost It takes no account of the 
 fftct that sin has corrupted and cut off all men, in their natural 
 state, from the favor of Qod and the hope of heaven. It has a 
 great deal to say about tJte unimendl fokherhood of ^od, but fails 
 to show how that fatherhood has bpen effected by the fall of man. 
 The Manual abounds in expressions like t^e following ; "All men 
 have God for their Patber;" "Our God is the universal Father," 
 &c. (Jo'd is certainly not t"he Father of all men, by regenferatibn 
 and faith'in Christ,' because only a fractional part of the whdle 
 race are true Cbristians. The majority of the human fatiiily 
 ^re therefore simply his natural and not his spiritual children. 
 And yet, tHe Manual, p. 223, says the ever living is our Fsfii- 
 er arid will make us (''all men") ffie sharers qf his Hhmorfdlity 
 and eternal life^ as revealed in the Bible." Here then we find the 
 order teaching the doctrine of vdiaersal salvation! The same is 
 true, even jf "us" above refers only to members of the order, 
 whicb is open to Jews, Gentiles, Turks, deists, infidels and 
 skeptics of all kinds. And if God will make all these Odd- 
 fellows, sharers of his immortality and eternal life, jitst as they 
 aav, without the proper spiritual change, then all the rest of 
 mau^ind l^ve the same chance of being baved — thus giving us 
 the same false doctrine, whatever construction is put upon the 
 language used in the Manual. 
 
 And this doctrine it claims to find in the word of God. It 
 closes tlie statement above given, with the irords, "a» revealedm 
 theBiile." Thus it perverts the true meaning of the Bible abd 
 makes it teach falsehood ! But Odd-fellowship teaches that 
 dbd will save all men. ' 
 
 4. It puis Ohristianity otid"mmnm batis" with the faUe reMffions 
 of the, world and thus mrtitaUy rejects it. 
 
 We have already shown that Odd-fellowship claims tc> be a 
 fraternity, whose principles are as broad as humanity— that in 
 . its eyes, ail religions are "equal." Hence it avoids all "affinity 
 wltl^ ^^pts," among whicb it classes the Christian religion.' The 
 Manu^ on p. 387 says that "Judaism, Christianity and Moham- 
 medanism a,re the three great religions of the world and have 
 for their "common basis", the law of the ten commandments. 
 But Christianity is essentially unlike any other system of re- 
 ligion and has Ohristfor its reat'basis'.''' K'ddf'^i&t is the character 
 Ot the Other two religions witU which it is bere coonected? 
 
14 
 
 Ancient Judaism was all right in its proper time and place, as 
 going before Christ and preparing the way for his coming. But 
 the Judaism of to^lay consists ot unbelieving Jews, who reject 
 Christ, and is a false religion directly opposed to the Christian 
 religion. Mohammedanism, devised by Mohammed, an impos- 
 tor, who claimed to be greater than Christ, is a compound mix- 
 ture of truth and error, taught in the Koran and drawn from 
 heathen, Jewish and Christian sources. And yet Odd-fellow- 
 ship puts Christianity, which is the only true religion on earth 
 on a "common basis" with the two false religions just named 
 and treats them all with equal honor and respect ! 
 
 And it does this, under the specious name of "toleration," as 
 set forth in the Manual and Pocket Companion, under the 
 "Golden Rule Degree." Webster defines toleration, as "the 
 Mowanoe of that which is not wholly approved." Hence it does 
 not require us to yield or compromise our own faith or convic- 
 tions. It simply requires us to allow, suffer or permit others to 
 have theirs. But the toleration here enjoined,, involves the 
 yielding or giving up of the very truth, essence and glory of 
 the Christian religion. It involves the giving up Christ in the 
 order, for the sake ofthose who deny him. And this is necessary, 
 because all the members stand on a "common basis." Christians 
 must therefore recognize Jews, Turks, infidels and all deniers 
 of Christ as brethren. 
 
 And in order not to offend these brethren, they are urged to 
 practice a kind of toleration that requires not a mere dOaaaaiet 
 of the faith of others, but a radical duimge of their own I The 
 Manual p. 388 says, "the high barriers which in the world 
 separated men from each other, are here removed. They have 
 left their prejudices at the door (of the order) and mingle 
 in one circle of brotherhood, harmony and love. The descen- 
 dants of Abraham, the diverse followers of Jesus, the Pariahs 
 of the stricter sects, here gather wround the same altar, as one 
 family, manifesting no differences of creed or worship." And the 
 order is trying to bring about this very state of things. It 
 calls it the "glorious era," when its principles, "shall have 
 been received and obeyed by all the tribes and nations of men." 
 And where will Christianity be by that time f It will be vir- 
 tually supplanted or set aside. If Christians are ever led to 
 believe and practice these false principles, then will they not 
 
15 
 
 only give up Christ personally ,but along with him, the sum and 
 substance of the Oospel, including all its distinctive feature 
 and doctrines, everything oflEensive to Jew, Mohammedan, 
 heathen, deist or infldel!^ They mjist do this. Otherwise they 
 could not unite with all others, around the same alt»f, as one 
 family, manifesting or. knowing tw differences ot creed arid 
 worship. 'No man can have two sets of opinions, two creeds or 
 two modes of worship, radically different. Hence no true 
 Christian can become a true Odd-fellow in principle, in convic- 
 tion, in faith and practice, without giving up Christ and 
 Christianity ! From such toleration, "good Lord deliver us." 
 
 How far does Christian toleration require us to bear with 
 false teachers and false. doctrines? Only this far, that we are 
 not to oppose them with wrong means or motives or.feelingt. 'BvA 
 the word of Q-od requires us to oppose them in truth and love, 
 with all proper arguments and influence and efforts at our 
 command. We dare hot let them alone, or allow them free 
 scope in their effp-ts to' corrupt, deceive and destxoy the souls 
 of men. We are exhorted to "contend earnestly for the faith 
 once delivered to the saints." '-Watch ye, stand fast in the 
 faith, quit you like men, be strong," says Paul. He and 
 Barnabas, at' one time, had '-no small dissension and disputa- 
 tion," with certain Judaizing teachers and brought the case be- 
 fore a special council of aU. the Apostles at Jeiiisalem,'. where 
 their Jewish doctrines were condemned and rejected as being 
 utterly at war with the Gospel of Christ. Does that look like 
 tolerating Judaism and placing it on a "common basis" with 
 Christianity? Paul told the Philippians, "to stand fast in one 
 spirit, with one mind, striving together for the faith of the 
 Gospel, and in nothing terrified by their adversaries." Among 
 the Galatians he met "false brethren, to whom he gave place by 
 subjection, no, not for an hour, that the truth of the Gospel 
 might conHnue." He even "withstood Peter to the face, 
 because he was to be blamed," for tolerating Jewish ' opinions 
 on one occasion. In short, he stood up for the pure truth- of 
 God's word against all opponents and says, "though we or an 
 angel from heaven preach anp oilier Gospel, Uthvm, he accursed." 
 Thatis.the.kind of tolejration enjoined, upon Christians — no 
 quarter to false teachers, no compromise with error, no yielding 
 of our religious doctrines and convictions to suit others, no 
 
tcderstioB of Judaism or Qdd-feUo«nbip or say other false 
 system deviaed.by men. -<■ 
 
 The fact is, ChrUtiaiiUy permits no compromise of Its ' dofe- 
 trines and principles with any religion under heaven. It claims 
 to be not merely a religion as the order regards it) but the re. 
 ligissD, the only true, dime; inspired religion in existence. All 
 others are faUe and must be opposed. ' To compromise with 
 them or put itself on a "common basis" with them, would be 
 ' a suitndfti course, a fatal ruinous policy, ending flnblly in its 
 own destruction. And that would be the result, if the- faltfe 
 teachings of -Odd-fellowbhlp were universally feceived ' bnd 
 obeved^the.o*erthrow Of Christianity. ' 
 
 5. It rgeets the Triune Ghd anitheref&reviotehipi afl^teOdd.* 
 
 O. P. professes to believein "a Supreme Being>' Ttis Beiiig 
 must be of a yery peculiar kind, to^s'uit all th^ different parties' 
 creeds and shades pf opinion found in the order, so,^hat Cbris 
 tiaos, Jews,, Mohammedans, etc., may i^H tiiiite in worship 
 aroui)d the same altar. It would seem to be vej-y difflcuit to 
 find or ma^e such a God as this. , But the .order l^as pryve^ 
 equal to the task." in seating up an idol of human reason, whiQ|i 
 eacii worshiper is allowed to invest with such, attrib|ites as h^ 
 likes best The 0hriBtian may, if ^e ch90se regard thi|, ido) 
 as tihe true dod reirealed in th^ Bible. The Turk m^f .^sga^d.p^ 
 as tii^ OtciA of tbie Koran ; the Jew, as tjie Q;od which he prefer?,' 
 The heathen and infldel may each have, his own nqtion^ a,b,9.u^ 
 it; only so that all agree to call , it "a Supreme Be;ing,'' - and 
 w;9r^ip as the 9rder, pref Q^ibes I 
 
 If the mere belief in a Ood of some kind is . sufficient, ^es 
 the heathen who regards and trusts his. idol as a Oodyis just as 
 well off as the Christian and idolatry must be approved as true 
 andrigliti But there' is only one true and: living G-od in exiB-- 
 tenee.'.AU others ore false and < dead; and exist only in the 
 imagination- of thfiir worshipers^' This 'O&e true Ood has' a 
 certain- flpeciflc and well-^deflned character, in 'whidta alo&e he 
 can be rightly known and rightly- honored; The Bible clearly 
 reveals him as the TVittne 0od, Father, Son and Holy Ghost, 
 consisting of one- essence, but three 'persons. This doctrine 
 
IT 
 
 concerning. Ood, m tlffee«ne, run* throngh the whole Bible 
 frbin Genesis' tb Revelati'6n ; and is the faith of all true helievera 
 in the whole Christian chtirefa. Tfaeiie three persons are« all 
 eqilall;^' essential to the one true Qod. And if we lea7e out or 
 set aside bnt one tilerilbn, we see him in a false liglxt and wor- 
 ship) hith in a false character, Contrary to the bible. What re- 
 mtiihs after ohe person is taken away, is therefore not the true 
 Q-od, but a false God. Odd-fellowship cannot acknowledge and 
 worship the Triune Ood tta revealed in the Bible, consistently 
 with Its own creed. It simply demands faith in some sort ot a 
 Suprenle Being, without' any fixed anddeflnite character. When 
 Jew^, deists, and free-thinkers of- all 'classes, who deny the 
 Boly'Triiiity, are asked at their Initiation, whether they believe 
 in the Supreme Being- recognized by the ord^r, they all answer 
 in the ^ffliin&tive, and hence that Supreme Being eainnot be the 
 Triune'God: 
 
 Wc huve already shown that O. F. denies the Lord Jesus 
 Christ. But the Holy Scriptures clearly teach that- in denying 
 or ignoring t>ne person of the Godhead, it thereby divides and 
 destroys the Trinity and shuts out the true God entirely. 1 
 Johh2:33. "Whosoever denieth the iSm, the same hath no( 
 the Father; but he that acknowledgeth the Sen hath the Father 
 also. "3 John 9. "Whosoever transKresseOi and abideth not in the 
 doctrine of Christ, hath not Qod. He that abideth in the do&. 
 trine of Christj^hath both the Father and the Son^" John 5: 23. 
 "All men should honor the Son, even as thty honor the Father. 
 He that honoreth not the SonrhonotetKnot Oie father which hath 
 sent him." These passages prove beyond dispute, thaf; the 
 denial'Of the Soi involves. the denial Qf ,the Father also. The 
 Bible demands absolutely the paying of equal honor to both, 
 yea to all the persons of the Trinity. And where this is not done 
 the true God is rejected., as he is by aUwhp deny Ghfiet. 
 
 It ,is of no avi^il that they befieve in.. "a Supreme Being," 
 which does not res^ly, ez}st. 
 
 The one true God cannot be known or worshiped 
 apa t from Christ, because the Father and the Son cannot 
 be separated. To reject the one, is to reject both. " He 
 that abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not Ood." 
 That iS| he has no God at all— nothing but an idol, by whatever 
 
18 
 
 name he may call it. Hhis places . Odd-feOowakip in the rcmfy ef. 
 I idola^y, teaching a false religion <md worshiping, a false god, 
 an idol of its own iv/aention! Whoever, gets a faUe idea or 
 conception of Q-od from reason, contrary to the Bilile, has an 
 idol for his God, whether he has tnat.fals^ conception embodied 
 in some external object, or keeps it simply as an ideal in Ifis 
 own mind.' It is all the same. 
 
 -After forming this idol. Odd-fellowship rears a -temple, ded- 
 icates.a hall, forma a lodge, with its priest and altar, where it 
 is set up for worship.even by Christians I. In what light Chris- 
 tians are to regard snch idolatry may be learned from the fate 
 of Dagon, whose body was found in broken, pieces on the floor 
 aftqr the Ark of God was temporarily put in the temple of that 
 idol — showing that the true God will- not ^'tolerate" false gods, 
 nor allow them to stand on a "coinmr>n basis" with him iindet 
 any cttcumstaqQes. We have another illustration of this,' in 
 connection with the giving of the law from Mount Sinai, where 
 the Israelites made and worshiped a golden calf— as a punish- 
 ment for -which three thousand offenders perished', while, the 
 molten iuiage itself was burnedan the fire, ground into powder 
 and strewn upon the water, which the rest were made to drink! 
 6. It virtually denies and rejects the supreme iwuthority of the 
 Bible. 
 
 The Bible is the only divine; infallible,' perfect book^ inspired 
 and given by God himaelf. Its authority in religion is therefore 
 supreiue. Whiit it teaches and determines, as the book of God,,' 
 must be acc^ted as final and fixed forever. From its lofty 
 position^ far above all pretended revelations or rules of faith, ' 
 it judges and Condemns as false all religious teachers, doc- ' 
 trinus, authorities and societies, that do not harmoiiize with 
 its teachings. And from its supreme decision there is no 'ap- 
 peal or escape. Our faith musteither stahd'or fall, as it agrees 
 or disagrees with the word pf God. And this supremacy it 
 claims in explicit ternis. "AU Scripture is given by inspiration 
 of-God, and.isprofltable ft)r doctrine, for, peprpof, .for correc- 
 tion, for instruction in righteousness." '"JThough ah angel from 
 heaven greach any other Gospel * ,, *, 1/st ,]^im be accursed.", 
 "To the law and to the testimony; if they speak not' a'c6o!tdi&g'' 
 
19 
 
 to this -word, it is because there is no light in them." 
 
 Accordingly, in our confessions, we as a church, declare : 
 " With our whole heart, we receive and embrace the Holy- 
 Scriptures, and believe that they alone are the iole and infalli- 
 ble rule, by which all doctrines and teachers must be judged 
 and tried." And this is substantially the basis of all evangeli- 
 cal churches on this point. 
 
 And what place is accorded to the Bible by this order in its 
 system of religion ? We have already shown that it seeks to 
 unite in fellowship men of all nations and creeds, concerning 
 whom it says : " All are equal — all are brethren." Hence, it 
 equalizes Christianity with various false religions represented 
 in the fraternity. And in doing so, it necessarily equalizes the 
 Bible with the false books of those religions. On p. 888 of 
 the Manual, we read : " FoUowers of different teae7iers—ye are 
 worshipers of one God, ( ?) who is Father of all, and therefore 
 ye are brethren." Through its unscriptural toleration, all re- 
 ligious teachers, doctrines, and books, represented in the order, 
 are therefore officially recognized as equal — as standing on the 
 same "common basis." Hence, the fraternity does not ac- 
 knowledge the supreme authoritv of the Bible as the Christian 
 church does, and as Q-od himself requires ; but simply puts it 
 on the same level with the Koran, Shater, Zendavesta, and 
 others, and simply allows it equal a/iUhority with them. Indeed, 
 the order could not do oitherwisu, without violating the fun- 
 damental principle of brotherhood on which it professes to 
 stand. 
 
 But this is not all. It makes the Bible inferior to natural eon- 
 seienee, as a source and rule of religious faith. The Pocket 
 Companion, p. 127, says: "Conscience should be permitted 
 always to govern us, and, as it directs, so should we ever act." 
 In Odd-fellowship Illustrated, the Chief Patriarch says to the 
 candidate for the Golden Rule Degree: " The authority of con- 
 science should at all times be respected, and, as it determines, 
 so should we act in aU the relations of life." The Manual, p. 
 876, says : " The authority of conscience in religi<m must be para- 
 mount." Paramount means highest, supreme — superior to all 
 other authorities, civil or ecclesiastical, human or divine. 
 Neither church nor state has a right to oppress and persecute 
 men for the free exercise of conscience in religion. But every 
 
so 
 
 man is responsible to God for his views, and every man's con- 
 science must be subject to Bis Word, as the highest law. or 
 rule to gitide and govern him in all things. And ye><Odd-fel- 
 lowbUip m^kes the Bible subject to conscience, instead of mak- 
 ing conscience subject to the Bible, If it would require mian's 
 cohsci'ence to be enlightenedi quickened, and controlled bjri the. 
 Word- and' Spirit of 9odV then the case would be radically., 
 different. But that would be " sectarian," and the order dare 
 not instruct its membefrg to tii'at effect. Hence, when it says: 
 " The authority of conscience in religion must be paramount," 
 it must mean nator4»2 consciei^jse blinded and perverted by sin, 
 which conscience it thus places above the teachings of prophets' 
 apostles and evangelists — " holy men of God, who spoke as 
 they were moved by <he Holy Qhost"— yea, above the divine 
 utterances of thb @on of God himself. " If the heart beats only 
 for what is good and noble," says F. S.,Q8theim, "ftneedaiio 
 other reUgion tJum tTiat which it dictates tq itself."* The iHply , ^ 
 Scriptures are virtually s^t aside, and the dictates of th^.cor. , 
 rupt heart are to be followed instead 1 ^ ~ 
 
 And the natural result is, a false system of i;eligiq;itliat con- 
 flicts with the Bible in all its vital an^ essential, dgctrlnes, ,\V|e, , 
 have, already shown that Odd-fellowship r.ejegts iQlirist a#4,.the 
 Holy-Trinity, and in their stead worships an idol of, its own, 
 making; teaches salvation without Gospel limits, or conditions;, 
 ignores the. necessity of the new birth, repentance faith, 
 and Sanctiflcation ; places Christianity' on equal footing with, 
 false religions, and gives supreme authority to natural con- 
 science, instead of acknowledging thb Word of God as the only 
 perfect rule by which all teachers' aUd' doctrines are to be 
 judged and tried. ' >. , 
 
 In the light of all this, let US B6e what the Manual says on 
 pp. 321 and 322: "Th6 Bible is therefore placed- among our 
 emblems, because it is the fountain wMnceine drbAJb instruction — 
 the stor&-howe whence our precepts are deriiied,' and most 6t our 
 emblems are found in its pageb. Ko lodge can be beld with- 
 out it." This language, taken at par, would leave the impres- 
 sion that the order stands fairly and squarely on the Bible, 
 •See "Odd FeUpw,'\J.ane.,^871, p. 369. 
 
91 
 
 6ut with what consistency or sincerity can the order &pea.U •■( 
 the Bible in this pious strain, after it has virtually denied and 
 rejected its supreme authority? Does not this look like 
 hypocrisy and deception — like dressing a wolf "in sheep's 
 clothing" — like putting on a Ohristian appearance, in order to 
 draw unsuspecting Christians into the lodge and deceive them 
 as to its real character and designs f 
 
 We have only time left to discuss briefly and in general 
 terms, some of the other secret societies, prominent amon^ 
 which is Maionry. The religious principles of this order are, 
 if possible, more decidedly anti-Christian than those of Odd. 
 fellqship. We simply give one or two specimens. At first, 
 it prqfepes to receive and honor what it calls the "Holy 
 Bible," Farther on, in one of the degrees of Knighthood, it 
 says to.^he candidate: '\TheSible is the only km you ought to 
 follow.. It is that which Adam received at his creation. . . . 
 is caUed natural laui." As to the doctrines of the Bible, the 
 Ma^pu is , urged " not to admit that which is not demonstrated as 
 cleqfly aa that two , and two are equal to foiir" — thus setting aside 
 all.the^mysterifs of jthe.Bib^e, which, of course, cannot be thus 
 dep^onstrated, and ajlqwing no exercise of faith I 
 
 jj^gaifl,, }n ord^r.tp be "agood Mason," it says to the candi- 
 date : " You must shake oflf the yoke of infant pr^udice concern- 
 ing the mysteriet of the reigning religion," which is Christianity 1 
 "Behuldl my dear brother,! what you mxist fight against andde- 
 stroy before you can come to the knowledge of the true good and 
 sovereign happiness. Behold the monster, which you must con- 
 quer !— ithe serpent, which we detest as an idol that is <idored by 
 the idiot and vuiga/r, under the name of relioion 1" 
 
 For a full and reliable exposure, we refer the inquirer to 
 "Light on Masonry" byiBernard,,who had taken fifteen degrees 
 before his withdrawal from the order, and, in writing his book, 
 had the assistance of others who had gone much higher. This 
 book is indorsed and recommended by men of the best and 
 highest character, including many seceding Masons, who speak 
 from personal knowledge of what they passed through. It is 
 
vftia for Masdits to deny the trutli and credibility of this- 
 book. No ■ cftn(Ud> unprejudiced man can read it. carefully 
 and then pronounce it false. It contains an array of facts 
 and proofs that cannot be resisted, 
 
 2 he Orange is a recent invention desined as a trap for 
 the fanners — whom other societies of this kind had failed to 
 reach. Secretary Kelley, , one of the founders, says : " Many 
 of our originators were Masons of the 32d and S3d de- 
 grees, and prominent Odd-fellows.'' Among the latter is the 
 Rev. A. B. Grosh, the Universalist, who prepared the Ritual— 
 the order of worship used by grangers. From the simple fact 
 hat Masons and Odd-fellows took a leading part in framing 
 he laws and principles of this society, we might infer that it 
 is substantially like them in character. And examination 
 shows this Inference to be correct. The Rev. A. W. Geeslin, in 
 his " Exposition of the Grange," calls it " a religion at variance 
 with the Christian religion— a hsatheniah religion on Christian 
 soil." In its installation ceremonies, it claims that: "Its 
 teachings are the loftiest that man can seek"— higher and bet- 
 ter than those contained in the Bible itself ! Christ is ex- 
 cluded from' all the ' religious forms and ceremonies of the 
 grange, except theprayer and benediction which conclude the 
 burial service in which he is recognized. 
 
 But such a partial recognition can neither satisfy Christ, nor 
 satisfy a true Christian, whose conscience is properly enlight- 
 ened. Christ accepts no partial homage or obedience. He dcr 
 mands the whole heart and the whole lift. Paul says . " Bo ail 
 in the name of the Lord Jesus." He must be duly honored 
 aVu>wji» in all our prayers — not simply once a weeK, month, or 
 year; not simply at the grave, but in all meetings, whenever 
 and wherever we engage in worship. Like Masonry and Odd- 
 fellowship, the grange is essentially anti-Christian in its re- 
 ligious character. Hence, it is a poor, miserable subterfuge to 
 recognize Christ at funerals, which may not occur once in years, 
 tofien it ignores him, entirely in all other ceremonies on all other 
 occasions I It reminds us of Balaam's vain wish to " die the 
 
d^ath of the righteous," though he persisted m living the life 
 of a heathen t 
 
 Ajiother fraternity is called Knights of Pythias — a aignifieamt 
 name borrowed from heathenism, because Christendom could not 
 furnish one as suitable and congenial to the spirit and aims of 
 this order. Its religious character is of the same general type 
 with that of Masonry and Odd-fellowship. When a candidate 
 applies, for admission, he is asked: "Do you believe in a 
 Supreme Being, the Creator and Preserver of the Universe f" 
 With this latitudinarian , <!re«(2, all, the religious principles, 
 forms, and ceremonies of the order coincide. Hence Jews, 
 Turks, idolators, deists,. and free ireligionists of every species, 
 may be admitted to memberiship on a platform broad eaough 
 for all I 
 
 But why occupy time in discussing these societies one by 
 one in detail ? They all agree, substantially, in their first prin- 
 ciples. They all teach the same religious doctrines. They all 
 belong to the same famil;. Hence the exposure of one ia vir- 
 tually the exposure of all. One feature especially is common 
 to all — the denial of (he Lord Jesus Ohrist, from which follow by 
 legitimate iuflerehce and logical development, all the false, un- 
 scrip'tural, anti-Christian doctrines Which we Tume found in Odd- 
 fellowship 7 
 
 And now the-important questioit arises : What relation should 
 Christians sustain to. these societies, which teach a false re- 
 ligion and admit to mQmbership unbelievers ? We ansjseT, 
 the Word of God clearly and emphatically forbids religious fel- 
 lowship with unbelievers. ^To unite with them as brethren in 
 thea^ secret orders, necessarily involves such fellowship. And 
 hence union with them cannot exist without sin. Even if a par- 
 ticular, lodge in a particular locality has no infidel members, 
 that does not alter the case of Christians in that particular 
 place, because they are in communion with the whole fratesrni- 
 ity, and all the unbelievers connected with it. ' . ■ ' 
 
 Fellowship, with unbelievers in mere temporal or worldly 
 <ftj«y«,' is quite difierent, and is not forbidden. It is right for 
 Christians to mingle freely with all men in the ordinary affairs 
 
u 
 
 and transactions ef life. To avoid all intercouree with men of 
 the wcttteiW^toH8t/SSTa«llB!ry^, "needs gffoutof the worM." 
 The common interests of society, in which we are mutaally de^ 
 pendent, necessarily brings us in contact and sympathy with 
 our fellow-men of'ail cltis¥6s aind coiiditiokd, whbih' we' m:Qst 
 treat wi'tli civility, wh'(!)s'e rights' we must respect, and whose 
 welfare we iniistp^oiilote.' Hfiilde, it is lawful to have dealings ■ 
 witk' all jis iieiglih'of s| ' and ' as' ni^nlbers' of the crimmttnlity in 
 bUBinessi'tralde, coiiimer'c^° ci^il affairs, and all matters Of 'puh- 
 lic iiiWest The Wo'ri' of 'God coiSimandfl us to "do good- to 
 all men as Ve haVd 6i>Ji6rtuhiify,'"' giving hdp or relief to every 
 one wh6"st'andk"in"iifefed bf 'ojii' klnd'Dfflce's,' no matter of what 
 creecf or "country h'e ihkjr'be— ■whethbr'he'is aJew or'Oentile, 
 inMelofr Mtetati Gbd'hiiiiself hcis bound u6 all together in 
 one great liuin'ak'S'dfe'iety'of btoaidrhoDd;-i'ncltiding' not merely • 
 a select number who are best able to care for themselves 'and 
 the^ fa)]iil^ie,s,.but also tlie jrQun^, the ppor, the sick, the infirm, 
 thej^^ed„^nd^j:^ejieljiless~'pf .both sexes, acd^of al) cr-mplez- 
 ions I o 1% is %^tfiXQf^. both proper and necessary (o h&ye more 
 or .less intercourse, of a tenj^alor juiorJt^ nature with humaa 
 beings in. general, be ,their. creed or. phaf ^ct^r what it maj^. , , 
 
 But-believersare not alloyred, to. mingle with unbelievers in ,, 
 reHgiom'JWowship in common acts of worship. Such fello.w- 
 ship is fraught with evil to both parties. . , Jt is liable, jo peryert 
 believers gradually from the pure truth, and confirm .unbe- 
 lievers in their soul-destroying errors. It identifies the ffiends 
 ol'God:, witi'iis enemies ili the gilHtof their unbelief and rfe- 
 bellion. It implies' toleration ' of dOStfiii^s and "principles, ' 
 which the Bible severely condemns^ It dohVey'sthe idea that 
 God approves of false religioii "and false wbrihij), which he ' 
 hates. Hence, ^a)il warns Chrisfians agaiost'itlli the strongest 
 terms. '^Be ye not unegiuaUy yoked together with unbelievers. For 
 what fdlpvsahip hfith .^I'^AteouM^j v^iOi unrighteousness; arid what 
 communion halJi,Uahtju)ith d/f/rki^ess? And what concord Udth 
 Christ with Belial ? Qr what, part ?iath he that believeth with an 
 infidel t And what agreement hath the temple of God witfi, idols f '\ 
 . . Wherefore come out, from among them, and be ye separate, 
 
 ioith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and Twill receive 
 
y««." In another passage he says: ''^«'««*.i»<M;*aAflr» of other 
 ■men?* sins." And the' Apostle John says; "jy there come ^any 
 nntojf(m,'and JyHnffnot this Aoelrvne {bf Christ,) receive him mot 
 into your Junise, neither bi^him God^speed; for he that biddeth Mm 
 Cfod-gpeed is partaker of his evil deeds." ' ' ' 
 
 This settles the questioniof religious fellowship with unbe- 
 lievers, to the satisfaction of all who accept the supreme au- 
 thority of the Word of God. These passages demand a com- 
 plete separation in thi» respecti As Christians, we are here 
 positiTely forbidden to have any religious Gommunion or 
 agreement with infidels. We are required even to close our 
 doors agaiihst false teachers as such. We are not allowed to 
 bid them God-speed — ^to wish them success, or show them any 
 countenance in their evil works. In short, we are carefully to 
 avoid giving the least help or encouragement to those who 
 hold and teach faTse doctrines. And this applies with special 
 force to these secret orders which deny the Lord Jesusi Christ, 
 rejeet the Triune Ood, pervert the Gospel plan of salvatioq^ .put 
 conscience above the Bible as a rule of faith, and equalize 
 Christianity with the false religions of the world. We dare not 
 be id'entifled with them in 'these errors under .^any cireum- 
 staoces, or for any purposes whatever — not for the sake of 
 " pecUdiary benefits, success in business;^ or: tempore advan- 
 tages-of any kind — not even for .the sake of aiding and reliev- 
 ing the needy and suflfering, who can be helped in other ways 
 and by other means not'cmidemnedjby Scripture. Right ends 
 never Justify wrong means of attaining them. We are not to 
 " do evil that good may come." 
 
 Since union with these unchristian societies necessarily in- 
 volves religious fellowship with unbelievers, how can Chris- 
 tians justify their connection therewith ? How can they re- 
 concile it with the plain teachings of the Divine Wora f Do 
 they not thus become partakers of other men's sins ? By unit- 
 ing with workers of iniquity, either directly or indirectly, we 
 share their guilt. He who aids a murderer in any way, 
 becomes pa/rticeps ariminin — a partaker of his crime, and also of 
 his punishment. And the same principle applies here. If yon 
 belong to a society whose doctrines you know to be false and 
 unscriptural, you are responsible for any evil fruits and con- 
 (equences flowing therefrom. If you sin ignorantly, it lessen* 
 
de 
 
 your guilt. But you are utterly witHout excuse, as soon as you 
 get proper light on tie subject. 
 
 If you remain in it, after you know the true character of the 
 society and the sin of belonging to it, then you sin.wilfuUy, 
 deliberately, pTesumptuously-f-rbecause you sin with your eyes 
 open. Those who have founded these societies and made them 
 what they are, nave to bear the main burden of responsibility. 
 But God also places a responsibility upon you to examine these 
 institutions carefully and candidly, without pride or prejudice, 
 and with the earnest prayer that you might " know the truth," 
 and that the truth would " make you free." 
 
 To unite with unbelieyers in the false worship of the order, 
 may seem to be a matter of little importance in itself, but it in- 
 volves a great principle. Thousands have suffered martyrdom, 
 rather than do something which seems trifling compared with 
 that. During those terrible persecutions in early times. Chris- 
 tians had the choice of dying at the stake, or of casting a 
 small piece of incense upon the altar of heathen gods. By 
 simply doing that, they might have avoided a hoil'ible death. 
 And why did they refuse to perform that simple act, when 
 their very life depended upon it f Ah 1 that simple, little act, 
 was nothing less than an act of worship paid to false gods, and 
 really involved a denial of Christ. It was so regarded. And 
 for this reason they firmly refused to obey the command, know- 
 ing full well that the flres were already kindled to burn up 
 their bodies, 
 
 It is no light matter to be identified with a society that you 
 know denies the Lord Jesiis Christ Your connection with that 
 society, if continued and persevered in contrary to God's Word , 
 leaves your soul in imminent danger. " Whosoever shall con- 
 fess me before men, him will I also confess before my Father, 
 which is in heaven. But whosoever-shall deny me before men, 
 him will I also deny before my Father, which is in heaven." ■ 
 
GRAND LODGE MASONRY 
 
 Its Belation to Civil Qovernmsnt and the 
 Christian Belision. 
 
 Openings Speech Before the national ConTention at Hoioinouth) 
 Hay 14th, 1S73. 
 
 BY J. BLANCHARD, PRESIDENT OT WHBATON COLLEGE. 
 
 Fdl(yna Gitieens, Ladies and Gentlemen. — ^Weare met to 
 'Consider the secret ' 'orders" spread throughout our land and 
 world ; more especially those of our own country ; and, par- 
 ticularly, Freemasonry, their modern mother and type. A 
 separate consideration of each is unnecessary. The author 
 of the "Philosophical History of Freemasonry" properly ob- 
 serves, that "a discussion of one is a discussion of every one, 
 fashioned after the same idea." 
 
 The statistics which creep into the public prints from the 
 veiled recesses of the lodge, are fragmentary and imperfect 
 But we have enough to inform us that there are something 
 over half a million Freemasons, or about one sixteenth of 
 the voters of the United States. As were the slaveholders, 
 they are a small minority of our population. But their ri- 
 vals, copyists and imitating "orders" are much more numer- 
 ous. Lodges, chapters, encampments, councils, army posts, 
 centers, divisions, granges ; like clouds of invisible insects, to 
 which some philosophers attribute epidemic diseases, they 
 light on every popular virtue, industry and reform, until 
 there seems to be danger that no '.'order" of American citi- 
 zens wiE be left. 
 
 For, notwithstanding they are a meager minority as yet 
 in the rural districts, in our towns and cities, where are the 
 caucuses which really rule the country, one out of every 
 three or four voters is a Freemason. They form a brother- 
 hood not based, like that of Christ, on regeneration and love, 
 but on oaths, interest, and intimidation. They have sworn 
 
2 
 
 teality to an "order," which, by affiliation, reaches beyond 
 their country ; they owe another allegiance than that due 
 the United States, and practice other religious ceremonies 
 t}«.a.yi^5p^sjjjujfd,j,{j^ ^|i|istprTheJo^g^s ara ttus-^ab' 
 sorbin g into Aemselves the strength and vitality of our insti- 
 tutions^ states,,-. cfiimties,towjis, churehP^ and families even; 
 leaving them like eiggs sucked by vermin, nothing but hol- 
 low forms. 
 
 ! M^^W^* tei.Afl.i»kUng .9f thek rev^auee, which are- al- 
 most fabulously vast, and paid .gupctiially, as gamblers pay 
 their debts of honor. We know, too, that thousands of 
 good men who are laetabers, inwardljf loathe the lodges; 
 concern themselves little with their atfairs; and so leave these 
 vast.funds to be apfiropriated or em^ojred by *tbe ' unscru- 
 !opulousimeQ of ledsureiwho make M'asoilry i their Iradt!.''' -^ 
 
 ,In short we know enough) of theste.'. orders to cbndemn 
 them,with>out entering 'th^r :dark hallsi ) bowing' in their idol- 
 atries, or taking their oathsii i Their irublished rituals' give 
 ithejr self-projected worships; their fi^est^ contain thei-r con- 
 stitutions and laws; their cyclopedias -give their 'historiesj 
 and their lexicons explain their terms. TLus, though" thelj' 
 - irivolo'BS' and. oft-tevealed secriets had neve ■ been published, 
 •thBre|is.enoughitt 'their own books,! to convince evferi' re- 
 flecting 'American that the lodges 'contb'.a the seelds of"'dut 
 i certain naitional and sbcial destruction; tnat 'iihey jiledse' 'not 
 God and.are contrary to all men!' ' ' " ■'" 
 
 And yet^ such as we 'describe them, there were 1 50'suoh lodges 
 inChicagobefore'the- fire;' forty-sis in Milwaukee; ■niiiety- 
 'SizinCincinhati; and about in lik'> proportion througfatiut 
 the citiesamd- 'large towns ofthfe U-nic'n. And yet, wiSi^an 
 effrontery bfeyohd' that of the har-Ot who is ' their Scriptifl-a) 
 emblem and t^pe>, they tell us the iodge contains "no<!hi!ng 
 aigainstouT'pblitics or our retigioh;" trfaUe sucha lodge-^ta^ds 
 outside and works inside of every Court hofute, ■ Legislative 
 ilaUr and chtircb of 'Ohrist bet\i edli the'oceanb, and' Canidas, 
 
 and the Gulf! 
 
 Andi it is true, thsit Masons do not come oilt manfolly^ au^ 
 form piolVtical parties of their own, or openly opfiose those 
 fortoted'-br others. ■ Theyjoiri aH p^rties,'because they mean 
 to control au, jy electing.,Masons to govern each. ..They in- 
 tend to seize the n'lindorns nfthe whole world and theylory 
 of thfw.. and give them to those only who ijrill practice th^eii 
 •ronbipi ! The spirit that rul«s the lodg* ear«'i l«u fon 
 
than for homage. Office, if they can get it, but sway over 
 mind they must have — allegiance — worship, to bind con- 
 science by oaths and obligations, to put the soul on its knees 
 before their altars, — worship, worship, WORSHIP is what 
 they want And having filled a church or party with its 
 peculiar atmosphere, to say that it infringes not on politics 
 or religion because it nominates no (Separate ticket, is as if 
 thieves having filled the house with ■ chloroform should, de- 
 clare they do not interfere with its inmates, because they do 
 not take their victims by their throats. The American press 
 and pulpit, are to-day largely chloroformed by the lodge.. 
 
 Let us now verify and establish these general statement* 
 by special discussion. 
 
 The Freemasonry of the present day is Grand Lodge Ma- 
 sonry. The Grand Lodge of which there is to be but one in 
 each political jurisdiction, is the source and seat, and center 
 of the power of the order. The first Grand Lodge, any Ma- 
 sonic Lexicon or Digest will tell you, was formed at the Ap- 
 ple-tree tavern in London in 1717, one hundred and fifty-six 
 years ago. Before that time, there were local lodges of 
 working Masons, trades-unions of stone and brick-layers ; but 
 never till that year was there a Grand Lodge. Those, how- 
 ever, who are familiar with Masonic books know that at that 
 time and place, viz: at the Apple-tree tavern, Covent Garden, 
 London, in the month of February, 1717, four decayed lodges 
 ofWorking Masons got together, and formed what was till 
 then unknown on earth — a Masonic Grand liodge. And we 
 are told by Chase, (Dig. Mas. Law, p. 15.) that "From the 
 Grand Lodge ofEngland, or the Grand Lodge of Scotland, 
 all other existing Grand Lodges derive their origin — most of 
 them fi:om the former." And the same Masonic authority, ' 
 Chase, gives the names of fifty nations and states of Europe 
 and America, which had bought their charters from the 
 English Grand Lodge ! k 
 
 The unseen world and its inhabitants are veiled. We know 
 them only as revealed to us. Butif there be, as the Scrip- 
 tures tell us, evil spirits above and about us who concern 
 themselves in earth's affairs, corrupting, cbnfoundino- and 
 "mirigling their hateful presence" with the concerns of men 
 to alienate us from God and goodness, surely in no point of 
 the history of human disaster, could they have been more 
 active than in the rise and diffusion of Apple-tree tavern 
 Grand Lodge! It arose like a mist, it spread like the chelp 
 
era; and now sits like a nightmare on the nations. 
 
 But back of and before that Grand Lodge there -were other 
 materials beside lodges of artisans to make it out of, and in 
 that respect, Masonic pretensions to antiquity are true. From 
 the altar of Cain to the Mormon temple men have practiced 
 worships invented by men: worships which God notices only 
 to abhor, but which the Cains of humanity cling to as sub- 
 stitutes for religion ! -as harlotry is practiced by those who 
 wish to avoid the responsibilities of marriage. ' 
 
 At the time and before the starting of that Grand Lodge, 
 the eairth outside of Christendom was dotted aU over with 
 temples and pagodas, where these self- projected worships 
 were practiced. Every idol god, or his priest had for him 
 (for tne idol was nothing), his lodge and his initiation, 
 his mysteries and his rites. 
 
 Bishop Warburton says : "Each of the heathen gods, be- 
 side the worship paid to him in public, had a secret worship 
 to which none were admitted but those who were prepared 
 by previous ceremonies." 
 
 And the learned Mapknight tells us what these ceremonies 
 of initiation amounted to. He quotes from an old writer, 
 Proclus thus: "In the most holy mysteries, before the scene 
 of the mystic visions, there is terror diffused into the minds of 
 the initiated." Again he says: "In the lesser mysteries, the 
 person to be initiated, was, at his entrance, filled, with inex- 
 pressible horror." Andagain: "It seems tte darkness was 
 dispelled by the sudden flashing of light " ' (MacknightPre£ 
 toEph. p. 3i4.) 
 
 In brief, those old, cunnning priests got up a set of clap- 
 traps, contrivances and scenic arrangements by which they 
 firbt terrified, tamed, manipulated, and handled their dupes; 
 then brought them to light; repeated to them some common- 
 place moral precepts; bound them to tbe order; and swore 
 them to obey the authority and subserve the interesti 
 of the clan. 
 
 Such were the lodges of the old world. Tacitus (Histories 
 B. V. c. iv.) denounces Moses and the Jews because they re- 
 jected these rites. '■•Frofwna illic omnia quae apud nos 
 sacra, " he says — They deem profane all rites which we re- 
 g rdas sacred. And Zozimus says that the Greek myster- 
 ies "were so extensive as to take in the whole of mankind," 
 (Quolcd by Macknight, p. 314,) Thus were the mar'cs of 
 the old world initiated, taxed, stultified and ensla,ved by the 
 
cunning and unscrupulous few. Their temples vere brothels.- 
 as many as two thousand lost women were kept at Ephesus 
 in the single temple of Diana. Their priests reveled in lux- 
 ury, and their kings in blood, and such was the moral filth 
 and abominations of the lodges that the better sort of heathen, 
 like Socrates, always refused to be initiated. But, once in, 
 honor and intimidation, superstition and self-interest kept the 
 masses under submission and taxation, until society would 
 break down under the weight of its corruptions; and revolu- 
 tion brought relief. 
 
 Now no man of ordinary intelligence can give though but 
 a slight attention to the secret orders of the present day, 
 without seeing their identity with the old. The solemn 
 fools-play of the lodge; the stripping, blinding and befooling 
 of the "Entered Apprentice;" the mock-murder of the Mas- 
 ter Mason; the human skull in the fifih libation ; oaths, which 
 John Quincy Adams well remarked, ''a common cannibal 
 ought to be ashamed of;" the human skeleton confronting 
 the candidate in Odd fellowship; the muskets levelled at his 
 breast in the mock "Grand Army of the Republic;" — these 
 all, and ten thousand more inventions, are but reproductions 
 of the old tricks of priest and king-craft to brow-beat, terrify 
 and tame the initiate, and so fit him to become a silent ac- 
 complice or active partizan in the scoundrelism of the lodge ! 
 
 But men had one comfort concerning those ancient syna- 
 gogues of satan ; the peasantry and the poor escaped them ; 
 and the peasantry and the poor were the vast majority of 
 mankind. But now, in 1717, a change had come? Christ 
 had come and preached the gospel to the poor; and lol 
 laborers read, and as Kossuth said, "even bayonets can 
 think !" A mystic aristocracy which had corrupted the in- 
 telligent and cursed and crushed the poor of the old world, 
 would now no longer answer Satan's purpose. He must fire 
 lower. He must turn democrat. He must imitate Christ 
 and become a mechanic. He must reach and initiate the 
 masses. Christ was a carpenter, he will be a mnson. He 
 puts on an apron ; picks up a trowel ; hides his dark religion 
 under the tods and terms of a handicraft; and "behold, the 
 world is gone after him !" 
 
 Let us now take up that first London Grand Lodge. Let 
 us analyze and examine it. Let us take its description, 
 wholly Irom Masonic books ; and see whether it Supports the 
 fearful conclusions we have formed concerning it. 
 
And first who compose a Grand Lodge i 
 
 We are told by Chase, (Dig. 19.)that "An American 
 Grand Lodge is usually composed of its officers, elect and ap- 
 pointed, except the Grand Tyler, its past Grand Masters, and 
 Grand Wardens; and the masters and Wardens of its subor- 
 dinate lodges, or tieir regularly appointed proxies. That is, 
 a Grand Lodge is composed of "Lodge-officers and past offi- 
 cers, grand and local, and their proxies Now let us see 
 who and whatthese privileged officers and past officers are. 
 
 Let us begin with the Master of a local lodge. We take 
 his description, in the words of Mackey, from the chief Lexi- 
 con of the order : "The power of a Master is absolute. He 
 is the supreme arbiter of all questions of order, so far as the 
 meeting is concerned; nor can any appeal be made from his 
 decision to that of the lodge." "For no misdemeanor, how- 
 ever great, can he be tried by his lodge. This is the de- 
 cision which has been made by every G'and Lodge in the 
 United States, which has entertained the question, and it 
 may now be considered as a settled law of Masonry." ''He 
 is to be treated with the utmost reverence while in the chair, 
 and his commands must be implicitly obeyed. " He has the 
 right ofcongregating his lodge whenever he thinks proper; 
 and of closing it at any time that in his judgment may seem 
 best. " Such is the man who sits in the chair of a local 
 lodge I And I venture to assert that there is- not, in the 
 whole English language a more perfect description of a com- 
 plete, irresponsible despot than this. And he, or his proxy, 
 goes to make up the lowest-> grade of Grand Lodge mem- 
 bers; those nearest the people. The rest being Grand Lodge 
 officers or past offi'-ers. 
 
 Let us now examine the Constitution of the Grand Lodge 
 itself, composed, as it is, of members who have been inured 
 by practice to the exercise of simple, unquestioned, absolute 
 power. I quote still from Maokey. (Lex. p. 183.) "The 
 government of Grand Lodges is, therefore, completely des- 
 potic. While a Grand Lodge exists, its edicts must be re- 
 spected and obeyed without examination by its subordinate 
 lodges. And when a local lodge Master is inaugurated he is 
 required to ^ve assent to the following: "You promise to pay ' 
 homage to the Grand Master for the time being, and to his 
 officers duly installed ; and strictly to conform to every edict 
 of till' 0-",hl l.dge." Thus, as in Jesuitism, every grade is 
 a new decree of slavery. The General of the order of Jesuits 
 
has not completer power fv^r that order, than the Grana 
 Master of the Stale oyer ail its local lodges and their mem- 
 bers. 
 
 By turning again to Chase's digest, we find the following 
 horrible applications of the more horrible power of the Grand 
 Lodge over the Masonsof the State and their property thus: 
 
 The Grand Lodge has absolute power: 
 
 1. To "erase," "extinguish," or destroy any local lodge at 
 its pleasure.— pp. 22, 28, 36. 
 
 2. To tax lodges, and individual Masons, at its sole discre- 
 tion, pp. 24; 448, etc 
 
 3. To withdraw the charter of any local lodge, and con- 
 ^seate and seize all its money, property, papers and eflfects. 
 — pp, 121-2. 
 
 4. To expel individual Masons from the craft. — p. 22, 
 et al. 
 
 5. To inflict punishment on the persons of Masons without 
 (imitation or restriction but by its own discretion. — p. 22. 
 
 Such was the instrument and organization of vengeance, 
 despotism and oppression which was formed in London in 
 February and June, 171 7; and called a Grand Lodge of Ma- 
 sons! And we have such a machine of horror in every state 
 and territory of the United States, and, I believe, in every 
 political jurisdiction in the whole world! And yet, so efifect- 
 ually was this terrible scheme concealed beneath' glozing 
 pretensions of religion and charity, and coarse merriment and 
 lying legends, and gaudy finery, and sounding titles, and 
 cautious concealment, that the nations did not turn pale and 
 tremble when this machine of mischief was set up among 
 them, and only when its power to punish its members with 
 death has been indisoretely exercised have people taken 
 alarm. And even then the alarm has been transient, and 
 soon died away, while the secret mills have ground on. 
 
 Such is a Grand Lodge of Masons in its civil and less dan- 
 gerous character and aspect. In its origin, progress and 
 present action, it is simple, absolute subjugation and subjec- 
 tion of man to man. It is taxation without assigned limit, 
 and punishment without redress, and confiscation or robbery 
 without appeal. And such a constitution as this, is put for 
 administration into the hands of men who have been trained 
 to the exercise of power, at once perfectly absolute and per- 
 fectly irresponsible. 
 
 Considered simply as a system a( secret training-schools. 
 
tte system of lodges in this country is perfectly appal^ng- 
 Since 1733, the date of our first lodge, it has been silently 
 revolutionizing our national ideas ; until one popular leader 
 declared the Declaration of American Independence to be 
 "mere sounding and glittering generalities," and another a 
 mere "rhetorical flourish." Doubtless human slavery, and 
 national prosperity, and personal corruption have done much 
 to produce this change; but the night-lodges have organized 
 and established it. And, having so widely extinguished 
 the very ideas in -which the government was founded, the 
 lodges, changing their name to "Knights of the Golden Cir- 
 cle," attempted the overthrow of popular government and 
 the establishment of an empire ; and they hatched and in- 
 augurated our war with slavery, which cost a million of lives 
 and a billion of taxes. 
 
 Let us now look directly at Freemasonry in the gross. 
 
 In the year before the Morgan murder (1825) a Masonic 
 orator, Brainard, gave, at New London, in Connecticut, a 
 <iescription of the order, 'at once so succinct, accurate and 
 startling, that his name and speech afterward became familiar 
 to the American people. He said : — 
 
 "What is Masonry now? IT IS POWERFUL. It comprises 
 men of all ranks, wealth, office and talent, in power and out of 
 power, and that in almost every place where power is of any im- 
 portance; and it comprises among other classes of the communi- 
 ty, to the lowest in largs numbers, active men, united together, 
 and capable of being directed by tlie efforts of others, so as to have 
 the force of cement through the civilized world. They are distrib- 
 uted, too, with the means of knowing each other, and the means 
 of keeping secret and the means of co-operating, in the Desk, in 
 the Legislative Hall, on the Bench, in every gathering of business, 
 in every party of pleasur3, in every enterprise of government, in 
 every domestic circle, in peace and in war, among enemies and 
 friends, in one place as well as in another! . So powerful indeed is 
 it at this timf!, that it fears nothing from violence, either public or 
 private ; for it has every means to learn it in season, to counter- 
 act, DEFEAT and PUJSIISH." 
 
 At the time this speech was made, there were somewhere 
 about two thousand lodges in the whole country, and some 
 fifty or sixty thousand Freemasons. Rob. Morris, in an ad- 
 dress to Iowa Grand Lodge says there were a little above 
 50,000, of whom 45,000 left their lodges in the Morgan 
 discussion, to return to them no more. Inconsequence 1500 
 lodges in the free states went down. Now, we have re- 
 ported in the Masonic Register for 1873, eight thousand 
 
nine hundred and ninety-two lodges and five hundred and 
 fifteen thousand one hundred and seventy Freemasons! The 
 initiation of this army of Freemasons a'one, exclusive of dues 
 and higher degree-fees, has drawn from the industry of the 
 country more than twenty-five millions of dollars. And yet, 
 in the face of these statistics, of which they are too generally 
 ignorant, the religious press of this country, except that por- 
 tion committed against the lodge afiect to treat Freemasonry 
 as a trivial affair, to be ranked with rag dolls, soda biscuits, 
 and the like; while the editors never touch pen to paper 
 concerning it without awe at its terrible secret power to 
 harm. 
 
 This Freemasonry, such and so vast as it is, is both polit- 
 ical and religious and demands a political and religious rem- 
 edy. 
 
 As a political engine, it is what the patriot 8amuel Adams 
 called, "That solecism in poUtics, an Imperium in Imperio, 
 ■ — a government within a government. In it, we have a 
 secret empire in our midst, having its own laws, oaths, offi- 
 cers and courts, and claiming the right to inflict death on its 
 subjects who disregard them. 
 
 Being thus a secret organization, like those ■ of bandits 
 and burglars, with signs and tokens of recognition which 
 they are sworn by shocking penalties to regard, every where 
 and anywhere they may be received, they can draw all 
 power to themselves; and, as they have often done, defy and 
 defeat our laws and government in the very courts set to ex- 
 ecute them. Two cases occurred recently in the courts of 
 California in San Francisco. Two Freemasons refused to 
 Bwear to facts, which they knfew, because they should per- 
 jure themselves to the lodge by doing so. One said to the 
 Judge, "Your honor knows how it is yourself." One was 
 excused, the other imprisoned for contempt; but neither of 
 them answered. Both Judges were Masons. 
 
 Now we hold that those two Californians have no more 
 right to sit as jurymen, vote, and hold office under the laws 
 of the United States, and the state of California, than unnat- 
 uralized foreigners. Why should they share in the adminis- 
 tration of laws and government which they disown and defy, 
 whenever our laws and their secret government conflict? 
 That these San Francisco cases are not exceptions, but that 
 Freemasonry does impose oaths and obligations which ia 
 the theory of that institution are paramount' to 'every other 
 
10 
 
 is well known to all who are acquainted with the oaths and 
 obligations of a Masonic lodge, or the history of the Morgan 
 trials. It was, the discovery of this fact, and utter impossi- 
 biUty of compelling Masonic witnesses to testify against their 
 Masonic oath, which led Special Justice Wm. L. Marcy to ex- 
 claim from the bench ; "■Ifmen will defy heaven and earth, 
 what can hti/man courts do?" There are men now living 
 and active in this cause, who also shared in those trials where 
 the judiciary of the State of New York strove to convict and 
 punish the kidnappers and murderers of Morgan; and they 
 uniformly testify that. falsehood and' perjury were not re- 
 garded by Masons as perjury and falsehood, when uttered in 
 behalf of the lodge and in accordance with the Masonic oaths, 
 Why should they be ? Do not Freemasons hold their oaths 
 to be binding, and denounce as perjured those who disre- 
 gard them and disclose their secrets ? And if they are bind- 
 ing, then every Mason is bound by fearful penalties, to con- 
 ceal all a Master Mason's crimes, except murder and treason, 
 if those crimes are given to him as secrets, and he knows 
 them to be such. And as the daggers of a secret order are 
 more dreaded than decisions of open courts, he will keep his 
 Masonic and disregard his civil oath. And as a man who 
 has two conflicting oaths in him cannot, if he would, be loyal 
 to both, we hold adhering Freemasons to be, as unnatural- 
 ized foreigners, unfit to sit as jurymen, vote, or hold office; 
 and the more so because their foreign empire has its secret 
 center in our midst. And as Freemasons join all parties 
 with the hope of controlling all, by the simple process of vot- 
 ing for lodge men in preference to others; we propose to 
 vote for others in preference to lodge men, and to convince 
 the electors of the United States, that it is their duty to God 
 and their country, to withold their votes altogether from ad- 
 hering Masons, until they take their stand as equal American 
 eitizens, and renounce their paramount allegiance to a secret 
 affiliated clan which boasts that it encircles the globe. 
 
 But we do not forget that a political remedy cannot cure a 
 religious evil; or that we are a "National Association of Chris- 
 tians opposed to Secret Societies." 
 
 The thing miscalled Freemasonry, like all similiar solemn, 
 mystic contrivences, old or new, having temples, altars, rites 
 and priests is simply a false religion and substitute for the 
 religion of Christ. The two appear in Eden. Abel's lamb 
 meant Christ and Christianity; Cain's earth-fruits, deism. 
 
11 
 
 In the New Testament Christ represents the one, and Satan, 
 ''the prince" and "god of this world," the other. And 
 now, as then, the question is, which shall be worshipped ? 
 Ever since Christ was preached to Eve as the bruiser of the 
 serpent who had stolen her allegiance and made himself the 
 guide of her conscience for a time, the two religions have 
 struggled for the mastery of mind by securing the worship 
 of the human race. The conflict is irrepressible and will 
 end only in the final triumph of Christ. And the one line of 
 demarkation, the grand seam of separation which parts these 
 two religions, is, that God has given the one, and men, moved 
 by Satan, have invented the endless varieties of the other. 
 
 '' There is one God, and one Mediator between God and, 
 man, Jesus Christ;" who ''proceeded and came from the 
 father; and none can go to the Father but by him. This is 
 reason as well as Scripture. A finite creature fallen, how is 
 he to climb back to the infinite, incomprehensible God, by a 
 cob-work of ceremonies, tricks and contrivances invented by 
 himself 1 As well attempt to lift his body to heaven by taking 
 hold of himself! But the teaching of the Bible is, that God 
 sent his Son into the world and he brought the Christian 
 religion vrith him. If that teaching is true then Christianity 
 reaches to God, and Christ is the "way" to Him. 
 
 On the other hand, paganism, popery, philosophy, shift- 
 ing as the mirage, and as unsubstantial; Mohammedanism, 
 Mormonism, the worship of familiar spirits — see all these in 
 motion and tell me which ceremony, trick or rite of them all 
 has not for its source the craft of men ? 
 Now to which of these classes do the lodges of the day be- 
 long? Their pomp, their regalia, initiations, lectures, le- 
 gends, parades — are these gifts of God from Sinai, or from 
 Zion? They claim no higher source than the fertile brains 
 of men, and this fact alone fixes their character as worships 
 of the god of this world, who still oflfers " the kingdoms of 
 this world and the glory of them " in barter for worship paid 
 to himself. 
 
 A rite, ceremony or form invented by men and practiced 
 as religion, is an insult to the Almighty, not adoration. In 
 the Old Testament all such acts are forbidden over and again. 
 "Thou shall not add thereto, nor diminish from it," was said 
 of the cominanded worship; and the New Testament is 
 equally explicit: ''Teaching them to observe whatsoever I 
 have commanded." No more; no less. And the Saviour 
 
12 
 
 denounced "traditions," or "commandments of men," 
 taught for doctrines; said they made the worship vaiii and 
 the commandment void; and declared that all such plants in 
 reUgion should be " rooted up." 
 
 Worship from the old Saxon worthship, is acknowledging 
 worth; and, in religion, supreme worth. But how is the 
 supreme worth of God acknowledged by the incantations of 
 a conjuror, the mummeries of priestism, or the idolatries of 
 the lodge? And even when Balaam acknowledges the 
 "Almighty" at false altars, and by enchantments, "who 
 hath required this at his hands ? " " Behold to obey is bet- 
 ter than sacrifice. 
 
 But, one says, the performances of the lodge are mixed. 
 There is much Scripture and many good sentiments in them. 
 May not a Christian practice the good and neglect the rest? 
 
 No. In the lodge the true God is put on a level with fic- 
 titious deities; and his word with fictidoua revelations. And 
 when truth is fused and mixed with falsehood, the whol* 
 compound is falsehood. The Christian who goes into thu 
 lodge, practices this compound, Freemasonry, and the whole 
 of it. There is no true God on a level with idols, nor in^ 
 spired Scriptures on a level with false. And the attempt U.i 
 worship the true God in a lodge which excludes Christ, and 
 puts the Bible on a level with false revelations, amid coarso 
 jokes, and stupid ceremonies, and mock solemn prayers, iu 
 not worship, but insult. 
 
 For if there is one clear, unequivocal, explicit command iiv 
 the word of God, it is that of the Apostle, to withdraw feK 
 lowship from heathen worships and worshippers. 
 
 "Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers." 
 "What concord hath" Christ with Belial?" "What agree- 
 ment hath the temple of God with idols ?" "Wherefore come 
 ye out from among them." "And have no fellowship with 
 the unfruitful works of darkness," "For it is a shame even 
 to speak of those things which are done of them in secret. ' 
 
 Will the American Missionary Association receive Chinese' 
 converts who still cling to their vain ceremonies, and allow 
 the promiscuous worship of Buddah along with Christ? To 
 bow one hour before nothing and the next before the God 
 that made the heavens ; to alternate between the brainwhiri 
 of priestly inventions and the serene adoration of the eternal 
 I AM ; —it is to blend the august and lofty homage of Moses 
 or Isaiah with the inuttered balderdash of gypsies or the 
 
13 
 
 iocus-pocus of the ring. 
 
 To worship, we know not what; to pour the deep, fath- 
 omless homage of the soul out where there is nothing for 
 the mind to reverence or pure hearts to love,— Oh? it is the 
 hlow of a giant struck with full force at nothing and tearing 
 his arm from the shoulder blade. 
 
 But this is not all. No truth stands more clear through- 
 out the Bible, than that gentile or Christless sacrifice is paid 
 to demons; that the shrines of idolary are inhabited; that 
 false worships have supernatural or spirit power; that they 
 are the dram-shops of the soul, where spirits of the wicked 
 dead awaiting the day of judgment, or evil angels Men, or 
 both, do haunt and hover, as untaken murderers, thieves and 
 rogues of every hue and stripe haunt literal grog-shops; that 
 they accept for their chief the bewildered homage of the 
 heathen; and, from their hidden realms and batteries, gal- 
 vanize or mesmerize the worshipers into superstition and 
 lust. , — 
 
 "Till men are — what they name not to themselves. 
 And trust notto each other. 
 
 And, if this Scripture teaching be true, how unmitigatedly, 
 bow unutterably horrible to the eyes of God is an idol tem- 
 ple or a Masonic lodge ! The fabled vultur- s which preyed 
 on the liver ofPromethrtus; the furies imagined by the fer- 
 tile fancy of the Greeks ; no serpents charming the victims 
 they mean to devour; no, no; nothing ira^^nary or real in 
 the whole universe of God can equal in simple horribleness, 
 men, immortal men, worshiping devils/ — that fiend who 
 tempted Christ; the legion who haunted the Gadarene, and 
 made him "exceeding fierce;" the creature that tore the lu- 
 natic son; the seven that possessed the Magdalene ; the one 
 who "grievously vexed" the girl of Canaan. Why, we have 
 but to group in one terrific family the "unclean spirits" ap- 
 pearing and acting in the simple Scripture narative, to see 
 them manipulating with invisible fingers, influencing, sway- 
 ing, mesmerizing a company of blinded and befooled wor- 
 shipers in a pagoda, or lodge ; and we shall cease to wonder 
 that an active Freemason sees nothing in his order "contrary 
 to Christianity." "The god of this world has blinded his 
 mind;" and his very power of veneration is gradually turn- 
 ing to stone. He is enchanted by the sorceries of the lodge ! 
 
 But time and your patience would fail to enumerate, even, 
 the proofs that these orders belong to the family of false re- 
 
14 
 
 ligions; that they are substitutes for the atonem«it, and ri- 
 vals of the religion of Christ. They blot out the Christian 
 era, by substituting another date for "the year of our Lord." 
 They omit Christ from the creed at the door of the lodge, 
 which is an omission of Christianity from all beyond. They 
 construct society in layers of lower and upper degrees, like 
 paganism, popery, priest-craft and king-craft; and not in an 
 equal brotherhood hke our American Eepubhc, and a New 
 Testament church. They claim to teach the whole duty of 
 man without the Bible; to regenerate man without the Holy 
 Spirit; and send him to heaven without the blood of Christ. 
 Each and all of these impious pretensions, are no part of their 
 secrets but printed in their books, and published to the 
 world, 
 
 This open attempt to supercede, set aside, and substitute 
 itself for the Christian rehgion gives clear and substantial 
 ground for excluding adhering Masons from^Christian fel- 
 lowship. And this is not all, uor the worst; the lodge bur- 
 lesques, travesties, caricatures the religion of Christ. 
 
 The stripping of its candidates, represents, they are told, 
 "divesting the soul of its vices. " The hood- wink means the 
 blindness of the sinner before regeneration; leading him 
 blindfold, tripping and stumbling around the lodge, is com- 
 passing Mouni Sinai, soul-trpubles, or convictions of sin; the 
 light made by tallow or kerosene which dazzled the candi 
 date's ey es when the blinder falls, represents the illumina- 
 tion of the Holy Ghost; and the clapping and stamping of 
 the lodge or ''shock of entrance," Dr, Mackey tells us repre- 
 sents "the throes of the new birth." All these are in ordi- 
 nary blue lodge Masonry. And they are crowned and com- 
 pleted by the blasphemous firce of the resurrection of Hi- 
 ram Abiflf, in which the lodge-master, whether Christian or 
 rowdy, personates Jesus Christ, ' 'the King of Judah," rais- 
 ing the dead by the ' 'strong grip of the lion's paw," in allu- 
 sion to the Saviour's being called "The lion of the tribe of 
 Judah." And when the candidate has been so raised, 
 "We now behold man," says Sickles, "complete in morality 
 and intelligence, with the stay of rehgion thrown in to in- 
 sure him of the protection of the deity; nor can we conceive 
 of anything that can be suggested more which the soul of 
 man requires." All. Rezonp. 189. 
 
 The mocking of Jesus Christ by those who made him in 
 sport the effigy of a Mn^, and then spit on his person, is 
 
15 
 
 outdone by this cool, diabolical, double-acting caricature of 
 his religion which is accepted by the shallow in good ear- 
 nest as "good enough religion for them ;" while the more 
 penetrating turn infidel and despise the caricature and its 
 original alike. 
 
 Now, we propose to overthrow and destroy this disgusting 
 and wicked system, by the simple process of explaining its 
 nature to the people of the United States. And we are met 
 on all hands by conflicting and mutually destructive objec- 
 tions. One gravely assures us that we are too late, the evil 
 is too mighty and strongly intrenched to be assailed with 
 hope. While others tell us that Freemasonry is too trifling 
 and contemptible to be assailed at all. There is a gleam of 
 truth in both of these asseverations. The weakness of the 
 lodge is shown by its fall before popular discussion after the 
 murder of Morgan ; its strength, by its return to power 
 when that discussion ceased. Then slavery afibrded it an 
 asylum in our Southern States. Now, thanks be to God ! 
 there is no slavery to shelter it. Then, too, in the expres- 
 sive cant phrase of the West, Masonry "possumed." feigned 
 dead; and so was left to return to life. We have learned 
 something by that experience. 
 
 But the fatal flaw in the Anti-masonry of forty years ago 
 was, that being a popular furor over a murdered man its 
 very violence presaged its exhaustion. Besides, the nature of 
 Freemasonry, as a false religion, was imperfectly understood ; 
 and, as a consequence, it was chiefly assailed as a political 
 evil, and by political men and means. To-day we see its 
 nature clearer, and thousands are praying for this conven- 
 tion. 
 
 Let us thank God and look steadily, carefully to our work. 
 The omens are on- all sides propitious. The demits from 
 the lodges now almost equal the initiations, and sensible, 
 reflecting men are leaving the lodges; while a lighter class 
 are going in. This is gradually demoralizing the order. 
 As the doctrine that slave-holding was sin, and emancipa- 
 tion duty, destroyed that giant evil so the truth that Free- 
 masonry is idolatry will yet exterminate the lodge. Al- 
 ready the order ashamed of its name, and trembhng in its 
 strongholds in towns and cities, is making a death clutch, 
 under the name of granges, for the rural districts. We 
 know what the liiial result is to be. The earth will open 
 her mouth and swallow up this flood which the Dragon is 
 
16 
 
 JSasting put of his mouth. Farmej^ have too much leisure 
 for reflection, and too much independence to be very long 
 either fooled or frightened or cajoled into lodge servitude by 
 a change of its nomenclature, its secret intimidations, or its 
 lying promises of advantage. 
 
 But our hope is in Christ, and in the Christian religion, 
 whose final triumph is assured by the very nature of truth 
 and goodnpsis, before which these works of darkness must 
 perish as the night before the day. 
 
 The old idolatries, the BaaUm of the nations, Jupiter and 
 his Olympian Sanhedrim of gods are long since sunk to po- 
 etic myths." The Great Etsrnal God has been manifest in 
 Christ; and darkness arid despotism, superstition and sor- 
 row are fading away before his word. Men are becoming 
 too intelligent to hav^e those effete idolatries imposed on 
 them by a mere change of names. It was to meet this exi- 
 gency of error that this infernal scheme of concealed lodge 
 worships was hatched and set abroach. It has, indeed, 
 come in on the nations like a flood, and now at length the 
 Spirit of God is lifting up a standard against it. It has 
 arisen without reason and must perish before truth. Its 
 hateful falsehoods, petty conctalments, and cruel malignities 
 must soon disappear; and Christianity appear on earth, as 
 John first saw her in heaven, clothed with the sun, the 
 moon under her feet, and a crown of stars upon her head. 
 
FREEMASONRY 
 
 — :A:— 
 
 f OUlfOliD GOIiFlMOY. 
 
 ADDRESS OV 
 
 PREST. J. BLANCHARD, 
 
 BEPORK THE 
 
 Eighth Annual Convention 
 
 OF THE 
 
 National Christian Association 
 
 AT PITTSBURGH, PA. 
 
 June, 9th, 1875. 
 
 CHICAGO, ILLINOIS: 
 
 EZRA A. COOK. PUBLISHER. 
 
 18S2. 
 
Freemasonry a Fourfold Conspiracy. 
 
 ADDEESB OF PRBS'T J. BLANCHARD, 
 
 B^ore the Eighth Anrmal Gorvomtion cf the National 
 
 Ohristian Asaoeiation at Pitttburgh, Pa., June 9, 1875. 
 
 Ladies and &entleme>i, Members of the National Ohristian 
 
 AssoeioMon, Friends and Fellow Gitieens: 
 
 We have come back to this first home of our national 
 organization, like glad children to their birth-place. We 
 are met wheie, seven years since, we plighted faith to 
 God and each other, to resist what we believed to be in 
 its origin, and triie nature, a fourfold conspiracy against 
 our religion and our government, against God and the 
 human race ; a conspiracy not less, but far more fatal be- 
 cause secret ; and so secret that thousands of well dis- 
 posed men embarked in it "know not what they do," 
 but are like the betrayers and crucifiers of old, blinded 
 by personal and pecuniary ends, of whom it is written : 
 "Had they known it, they would not have crucified, the 
 Lord of glory." Let us pause and review our ground- 
 Let us re-examine our principles and our purposes: 
 what we believe and what we hope to do. , 
 
 It is easy to bring rhetorical indictments. But are not 
 our fears exaggerated, and our conclusions groundless ? 
 If they are not, aud if we can convince sober, thinking 
 men that they are not ; if we persuade them that our 
 country and religion are in actual, pressing danger; 
 that, as has been well said, ''Secret societies and the 
 civil government are two masters whom no one man can 
 serve ;" then all good men will be with us. Surely they 
 will be with us, if convinced that the dangers we de- 
 nounce are real; that our principles are sound; our 
 objects attainable ; our aims just. 
 
 As to names and professions: we are Christians in 
 religion ; and in politics, Americans. In May, 1868, now 
 seven years ago we voted to call ourselves a "Christian 
 Association opposed to Secret Societies." In our incor- 
 poration, (April 19, 1874), we named ourselves simply 
 "The National Christian Association," and put our object 
 in our constitution. We hope to make it understood by 
 the country and the world, that Christianity is opposition 
 
to Secret societiee, unless it is spurious Christianity. 
 For a like reason we voted last year at Syracuse (1874), to 
 call ourselves in politics simply Americans; believing 
 that the lodge extinguishes American principles, as tifi 
 choke damp extinguishes light and life. Are we in error? 
 Or are these doctrines true ? The proof that lodge-ma- 
 sonry subverts Christianity are as numerous as the prin- 
 ciples in the two systems. 
 
 Christianity places men in the church as equals in 
 Christ. Masonry packs them in higher and lower degrees 
 in the lodge. The law of Christ is a "perfect law of 
 liberty," whose highest penalty is withdrawal of love 
 and fellowship. The law of the lodge is unreasoning 
 obedience, and its penalty, death. No appeal lies &om 
 a local lodge-master to his lodge ; and their standard 
 lexicon declares, "The edicts of a Grand Lodge must be 
 bbeytd without examination!" And men, freemen (1) 
 submit to such laws, as burglars, bandits and brigands 
 obey their laws, for the sake of the clan. The brother- 
 hood of Christianity is based on regeneration and love: 
 that of the lodge on oaths, imprecations and terror 
 Christianity, too, abolished the Jewish distinctions 
 against women. The lodge retains and intensifies then). 
 It swears its members never to initiate women. Theh, 
 also, Christ's Gospel is pre-eminently for the poor. But 
 the lodge excludes the poor. It receives its members for 
 money and drops them when they cease to pay. 
 ~ Thus the lodge is anti-Christ in its spirit, constitution, 
 laws, principle and forms. But the crowning proof of 
 its fearful antagonism to Christ is, that while Christ com- 
 manded Christiahity to be preached "in all the world," 
 "to every creature," the lodge swears its members to 
 "conceal" Masonry in all the world, from every creature 
 but themselves, on pain of death by mangling and 
 mutilation I So plain is it that the lodge, in theory at 
 least, is death to the Christian religion. And its theory 
 is the law of its practice. 
 
 The proofs of its antagonism to civil government and 
 especially to our own, are equally plain. The theory of 
 American politics is that, under God, the people are the 
 source of power, and so "ordain" their own consiitutions. 
 Even in England, the mightiest and most stable of her- 
 editary monarchies, the supreme power has again and 
 again reverted to the people. This was the case when 
 John granted the trial by jury ; when Charles I. lost his 
 head, and when James II. lost his three kingdoms. 
 
But, in Masonry, the Grand Lodge, which consists of a 
 few offlcials, is the source of power, and issues all Jocal 
 constitutions, called charters, which it can withdraw, 
 erase or extinguish at its pleasure! And as those com- 
 posing the Grand Lodge are known to comparatively 
 few, the Masonic masses are, as a general rule, in the 
 words of Robison, who had visited the leading lodges 
 of the world, "underling adherents to unknown superi- 
 ors." These statements rest on the authority of Chase, 
 Mackey, Robison, Heboid, Arnold and other Masonic 
 writers. And, taken thus from its own standards, there 
 is not a completer despotism on earth, or one more 
 utterly subversive of every American idea and principle, 
 civil or religious. 
 
 But facts are more striking than principles. Does 
 Freemasonry, it is asked, in fact destroy religion and 
 government, and especially popular government? I need 
 scarcely say that its history, as well as its theory and 
 principles, charges the lodge with defiance and demoli- 
 tion of all law and all religion but its own. 
 
 William L. Marcy was appointed by the New York 
 Legislature its Special Justice to try the Morgan murder 
 cases. "When he saw that grave, honored, respected citi- • 
 zens regarded falsehood and perjury as Masonic virtues 
 if called for by the lodge. Judge Marcy exclaimed, from 
 the bench, "If men will defy heaven and earth, what 
 can human courts do ?" And John C. Spencer, then first 
 of living jurists, perhaps, who was special counsel and 
 the assistant of the New York Executive in the same 
 cases, in his letter resigning the oflSce, charged the 
 Governor himself with betraying his State in favor of 
 the murderers of .Morgan! These, with multitudes of 
 cases equally authentic, are but the lodge theory reduced 
 to practice, viz : That no obligation, human or divine, is 
 good or binding against the lodge.' The late Hon. Gerrit 
 Smith told UB at Syracuse, that what chiefly shocked 
 and roused the people after Morgan's death, was the dis- 
 covery that law and government were virtually anni- 
 hilaied and dead before the lodge. I will add a single 
 case more : It is the overthrow of the Commonwealth 
 and the restoration of despotic government by accepted 
 Masons in the local lodges of England on the death of 
 Cromwell. I quote from "A General History of Freema- 
 sonry in Europe," by Emanuel Rebold. This Masonic 
 authority saya :^-"After the death of Charles I., the Ma- 
 sonic corporations in England labored in secret for the 
 
6 
 
 re-establishment of the throne destroyed by Cromwell;" 
 and thus "gave to this time-honored institution a charac- 
 ter entirely political." And the writer adds: "Charles 
 II,, during his exile, was received as an accepted Mason 
 and gave to Masonry the title of the 'Royal Art,' because 
 it was mainly by its instrumentality that he was raised 
 to the throne andmonarchy restored to England." (Heb- 
 oid's Gen. His. etc., p. 56.) 
 
 More proofs of the hostility and d^.nger of the lodge 
 to established government and of Masonic hatred of 
 popular rights than are given in this brief extract, could 
 scarcely be condensed into the same space. It is given, 
 too, by a Masonic writer. 
 
 Tiie story is short aad familiar. If kings can commit 
 treason, everybody knows that the Stuarts were traitors 
 to the realm. Charles I. was beheaded. Eleven years of 
 success had given stability to the Commonwealth ; and 
 England was never stronger at home or abroad: 
 and republican principles were dear to the English 
 masses. Had England then put herself at the head of 
 the movement for popular rights, she might have spared 
 .her American colonies the blood of the Revolution; 
 treated them, as we have treated our new States which 
 have risen since; and made England then what America 
 is now, the cynosure of the nations. 
 
 Other obstructions doubtless existed; but one thing 
 we know prevented it, which was this: Long before 
 stone masonry was dropped by the Appletree Tavern 
 Grand Lodge, and Masonry turned into a false religion, 
 (1717), the lodges of working masons, anxious,_in t'heu' 
 phrase "to have a nobleman their chairman,"' had ac- 
 cepted, initiated and corrupted the young and spend- 
 thrilt English nobility; and being humble mechanics, 
 were, in turn, led and corrupted by them. And to minds 
 drilled, darkened and debased in the nightly despotism 
 and debaucheries of the lodge, a republic was as incon- 
 ceivable as to our slave-holding Freemasons of the 
 South, whose highest conception of government was an 
 empire based on the bondage of the laboring masses. 
 These men restored Charles Stuart, a libertine, hypocrite 
 and disguised papist, but a Freemason. His vices, es- 
 pecially the good-natured vice of indolence, saved Eng- 
 land from oppression in part, and himself, perhaps, 
 from the fate of his father. But his scepter fell from the 
 hand of his brother and successor, James II., a worse 
 tyrant, though a better man, who, after systematioaUy 
 
overturning ConBtitution, liberties and laws, attempted 
 to throttle the national administration by throwing the 
 Great Seal into the Thames, and fleeing to a foreign 
 court. Such were the men, whom, this Masonic historian 
 tells us, the English lodges "worked in secret" to restore 
 by the overthrow of the established government. These, 
 too, were the monarchs, at whose feet the abject Masonic 
 nobility of England threw down the rights and liberties 
 of the English people. And in every crisis since, our 
 own bloody struggle with slavery included, the lodge 
 has been the same fawning sycophant of power, and 
 the same dark foe of popular rights. 
 
 I pause here to meet an objection which everywhere 
 and on all occasions meets us : If Freemasonry is deadly 
 hostility to American principles, why do Americans love 
 it? They know what it is after they are initiated ; why 
 do they continue in the lodge? Are half a million Free- 
 masons in this country seeking the destruction of the 
 country? Do men set Are to their own houses, in which 
 their goods are stored, over the heads of their wives and 
 children, and over their own heads ? Our answer la that 
 history is one vast record of nations which have perished 
 by the errors or delusions of their inhabitants; nor is 
 our own age or nation certain to prove an exception. 
 We have seen not half a million, but eight millions of 
 our people fighting for slavery, a cause in which success 
 would have been their ultimate ruin. This deluge of 
 fraternal blood, the millions of graves we decorate are 
 proofs, staring us in our faces, that Afllericans may fall 
 into delusions that are fatal. It is not impossible that 
 our secret orders may be such a delusion. There is 
 surely no inherent impossibility that, bewitched by their 
 sorceries, we may become giddy in their whirlpools 
 and blinded by their fog, and so drift into the wake of 
 the effete or fossil nations which have sunk by like 
 causes. 
 
 The arts by which the goblin of secretism has come 
 back from its grave of popular contempt in which it 
 lay less than fifty years ago, are chiefly four, viz: Its 
 harmless name — its mystic origin — the blindness of self- 
 interest — and the witchery of a crowd. 
 
 1. Thousands enter a "saloon" who would shun it if 
 the word "grog-shop" were above its door. So the 
 swindling worships of the lodge are called "Masonry," a 
 beautiful and useful art. The thing itself has no name. 
 No word in human speech would describe it. And so it 
 
sfeulks under the fragments of architectural Actions, like 
 serpents under the ruins of temples, which are related 
 to their sly and subtle occupants only as a screen, and 
 the grim panlomine of corner-stone-laying is but to 
 carry out the pretense. 
 
 3. And the mystic origin of Masonry serves, equally 
 ■well with its name, the purposes of popular delusion and 
 cheat. — Not ordinary blue-lodge Masonry. The rise of 
 that in the London tavern, in 1717, is known. But both 
 friends and foes of the lodge now use tlie term Mmmvry 
 in the broad sense, including the whole assemblage of 
 secret, symbolical institutions throughout the world, 
 present and past. 
 
 In this broad sense, it is as impossible to assign any 
 particular origin to Masonry, as to mists and miasm in a 
 marsh. We know that secret, solemn, swindling imposi- 
 tions have always been rising by cunning from the mire 
 of human selfishness and depravity ; but the time when, 
 or the particular bog whence they first arose lies hid. 
 Hence we are informed by Thory, cited by Rebold, that 
 "The general opinion among the most distinguished 
 Masons is, that it is impossible to write a general history 
 of Masonry, which will approach correctness in dates 
 and authenticated facts. " (Rebold p. 31.) And this very 
 cloud which covers its origin, casts a shadow over ite 
 real nature, and at once provokes curiosity, quiets appre- 
 hension and allays fear. So men are both lured and de- 
 ceived. Curious to know what the thing is, they think 
 it harmless because common. 
 
 3. As a rule, men enter the lodge, not to benefit the 
 public, but themselves; and selfishness is blind. Is it 
 wonderful that men see not the true nature of the lodge 
 who are hoping for secret advantages by it ? Judas saw 
 not the nature of the betrayal, while thinking of the sil- 
 ver; but when his eyes were opened to the act itself, he 
 loathed it. So men are blinded to the lodge. They go 
 in for advantage, are kept there by false honor or intimi- 
 dation ; and those who think Masonry cannot be as bad 
 as it is represented because such men are in the lodge, 
 are guiding their footsteps by the eyes of the blind. 
 
 4. And then delusions like diseases, propagate them- 
 selves by the very number of their victims. And the Di- 
 vine command, "Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do 
 evil," is aimed at one of the strongest propensities of 
 the human heart. And the lodge, like the Crusades, has 
 numbers on its sides, and the nature of the two delusions 
 
is in some respects the same. Thus reason, philosopliy, 
 and religion combine to prove the present rage for secret 
 societies to be one of those moral epidemics which some- 
 times sweep nations to their undoing. It is, therefore, 
 no want of charity to our Masonic neighbors, to say, 
 that, like men intoxicated with drugs or liquor, they are 
 indeed pulling down the country on their own heads 
 and on ours. This fourfold delusion, as we have shown, 
 both explains and proves it. Their name, mystery, self- 
 interest, and numbers show why they go into the lodge, 
 and what keeps them there ; and the lodge itself, its own 
 standards have shown us, is direct antagonism to the re- 
 ligion and government of the United States. 
 
 But our indictment of this Masonic mischief is uni- 
 versal ; not only hostility to our government and relig. 
 ion ; but 'a conspiracy against God and the human race.' 
 Of course this term. Masonic, is here to be taken in 
 its bro&d sense, including not only the London blue, 
 lodge of 1717 and its derivatives, but that Masonry, 
 whose "name is legion:"' scientific in the college, benefi- 
 cial in the society, inlidel in the club, political in the 
 circle, reformatory in temperance, benevolent, charitable, 
 social, or patriotic. Pagan or Christian, the Purrow in 
 Africa, the Jesuits, with their "Monita Seereta," and the 
 Papacy at Bome, the mother of them all, secret from 
 Confessional to Inquisition; whatever the hollow pre- 
 tence set up for show; these deluges of darknesis pour 
 along all our channels of life like the flood from the 
 mouth of the Dragon, diverse, yet the same : 
 
 "Distinct like the billows yet one like the sea.'' 
 
 Let us see whether these societies have a common na- 
 ture, and what that common nature is, and whether in 
 any JMt sense, it is conspiracy against God. There can 
 be but one moral system of the Universe, whose author 
 and executive is 0-od. And for this plain reason, that a 
 that a second Infinite, if distinct, must displace the first. 
 And the badge and binding-force of this moral system ; 
 the very bottom on which right and wrong rest, is wor- 
 ship, which binds mind to the God of mind. Now the 
 one point which we make is that these secret societies, 
 by substituting another worship for the true, in effect 
 displace God from his own moral system, and so destroy 
 it; that, in short, horrible as it may seem, there is no 
 vbliRatory right and wrong in a lodge I 
 
 There is a book issued in 1678, and so now becoming 
 
10 
 
 aacient, entitled, "The True Intellectual System of the 
 Universe." Writers of tlie day called it "the noblest 
 performance of the age;" and that the age of Oliver 
 Cromwell, when ilnKlish mind Influenced human affairs 
 as never before or since. This great and learned writer 
 (Cudworth) teaches that "the intellectual system of the 
 universe, as known on our globe, is divid«d into two 
 realms, of darkness and ot light." He shows by quota- 
 tions which seem to exhaust the learning of pagan an- 
 tiquity, that all their writers and their systems taught one 
 suprenie deity, "a god of this world," whose realm wag a 
 "polity of lapsed angels, with which the souls of wi(^ed 
 men are also incorporated." "That there is a continual war 
 betwixt the two polities or kingdoms in the world ; and 
 that our Saviour Christ is appointed head chieftain over 
 the forces of the kingdom of light." And. that this relig- 
 ion of one God and one Mediator, did effectually destroy 
 all the pagan inferior deities, middle gods, and media- 
 tors^ demons and heroes-," with much more to the like 
 effect. (Oud. Int. System, vol. I, p. 161, 3 and 3.) 
 
 Such were the teachings of Cambridge Univeisity, En- 
 gland, during thirty years incumbency of this learned 
 writer and great man in its principal professorship. It is 
 the view given in the Bible, amplified by human learning, 
 of the two supernatural, invisible realms of mind at war 
 with each other on this earth. And Cudworth comforts 
 us with the assurance that : "There will be at length a pal' 
 pable and signal overthrow of the whole kingdom of dark- 
 ness, managed by our Saviour, as Qod'a vicegwent." (/<i. 
 «o;./.263.) 
 
 Upon the ground , question, whether, there existai a con- 
 spiracy against God, it is sufficient to receivers of the 
 Scriptures^ (and we address such^ that they declare there is 
 such. a conspiracy; that there is such a person as Satan, 
 "the god of this world" and the king of its evils, warring 
 against God and goodness. And even infidels and 
 atheists, if they are honest ones, one would think, must ad- 
 mit that the evils of this world, if not the lesult of con- 
 spiracy, are yet mana^d with craft. 
 
 But are secret societies part and parcel of that conspira- 
 cy!' Do they belong to that dark movement which makes 
 the heathen nations heathen; incapable of moral order 
 and good government; "without natural affection, impla- 
 cable, unmerciful." And though we ehould acquit the 
 masses of secretism on the score of their ignorance or de- 
 lusion, are the leaders of these secret movements con- 
 
.11 
 
 scioua or unconscious conspirators against Ood and maii- 
 kindr 
 
 I shall bring some proofe that they are such conspirators, 
 from three sources, viz : Atjthokitt, Facts, and the Scbip- 
 
 TDKEB. 
 
 A volume might easily be filled with quotations from Msi- 
 sonic writers who declai-e, substantially, that Freemasonry 
 is derived from the pagan religions and mysteries. Indeed, 
 this is implied in the general declaration of their standard 
 Lexicon (Maekey) that "the religion of Masonry is that in 
 which mankind are agreed," for that certainly is not the 
 religion of Christ. 
 
 Arnold, a respectable Masonic writer, page 10th, of his 
 ^'PhiloiopMcnl History of Freemasonry" says: "The Mar 
 sonic order stands pre-eminent, not only because it is, in a 
 degree, the successor of the Egyptian and Grecian mysteries, 
 * * but also because it is the source whence all the secret 
 fraternities have proceeded." If this be true, then secret 
 fraternities are all, "in a degree," copied from the heathen 
 mysteries. 
 
 The author of "The Ancient Scottish Rite," says of Ma- 
 sonic baptism of infants, that it is not a rival of the bap. 
 tism practiced by Christian churches, but "has descended 
 from the religion which existed before the Pyramids ;" that 
 is, Egyptian heathenism. 
 
 But there is a statement by EmanuelBebold, in his "Gen- 
 eral History of Freemasonry in Europe" page 329, which 
 settles the point, so far as Masonic authority goes, that our 
 common Blue-lodge Masonry is actually the heathenism of 
 the nations. Heboid says : 
 
 "A very limited knowledge of the history of primitive 
 worship and mysteries is necessary to enable anyperSdnto 
 recogsQize, in the Master Mason, Hiram, the Osiris of the 
 Egyptians, the Mithras of the Persians, the Bacchus of the 
 Greeks, and the Atys of the Phrygians, of whom these peo- 
 ples celebrated the passion, death, and resurrection, as 
 Christians celebrate to-day that ot Jesus Christ." 
 
 Here we have an explicit. Masonic, authoritative declara^ 
 tion that Freemasonry is a copy of the old heathenism, and 
 that Hiram Abiff represents, or rather is a reproduction of 
 several of their principal gods, who were, it seems, killed 
 and raised from the dead, as caricatures of Christ. If then 
 heathenism is conspiracy against God and man. Freema- 
 sonry is. 
 Let us turn from Masonic authorities to Christian. 
 MacKnight, Adam Clark, Warburton, and other learned 
 
13 
 
 commentators, teli us'tiiat the "unfruitful works of dark- 
 ness" which Paul commands Christians to disfellowship, 
 (Eph., v: 11,) were these very heathen mysteries with which 
 Freemasons now declare the spiritual identity of their lodge. 
 MacKnight gives us an analysis of those mysteries, includ- 
 ing the "terror infused into the minds of the initiated," and 
 bringing him from darkness to light, thus showing the 
 moral and literal identity of Masonry and those mysteries 
 which the apostle commanded to be disfellowshipped, turned 
 out of the Ephesian churches. Adam Clark paraphrases 
 Paul thus : "Have no religious connection whatever with 
 heathens or their worship." The apostle warns them not 
 to be deceived by the "vain words" by which the mysta- 
 gogues of that day covered and justified their abominations, 
 adding: "Because of these things thewrathof God cometh 
 on the children of disobedience." Eph. v : 6. 
 
 This testimony from authority is sufficient, and sufficient- 
 ly explicit, that Freemasonry is but an expansion and con- 
 tmuance in our day of that dark system of mystic pagan- 
 ism which the apostfes disfellowshipped as conspiracy 
 against God. 
 
 "But," one says, "we are a practical people. Give us 
 proof from facts." Well, these are facts : 
 
 1. Seci'et societies all practice more or less human 
 substitutes for the worship of God. This is conspiracy 
 to displace him. 
 
 3 Freemasons, by what law oi lulelknow not, buti 
 know the fact, commonly destroy books and writings 
 which contain facts and reasoning against the lodge. 
 This is conspiracy against truth and the God of truth. 
 
 3. Freemasons separate husbands from wives by a 
 life-long oath of silence, and that in matters ot mutual 
 concern, as both wife and husband are certainly concerned 
 in paying lodge dues. This is conspiracy to change mar- 
 riage so that it will no more symbolize the union of 
 Christ and souls. 
 
 4. For a like reason, Christ even in Christian countiies, 
 is omitted from the creed and prayers of the blue lodge or 
 fundamental Masonry. And though the dangling addi- 
 tions to Masonry, called Templar degrees, recognize Christ, 
 they insult him by brutal rites and blasphemous oaths, in 
 which, while the Templar seems to recognize -Christ in the 
 Commandery he swears fealty to his exclusion from the 
 blue lodge below . This is conspiiacy blasphemy and ia- 
 sijlt combined. 
 
 5. Then Freemasonry repeals, by implication, the laws 
 
18 
 
 of God. That against adultery, by limiting its prohibitions 
 to the female relatives oi Masons. That against fraud, by 
 forbidding to wrong a member of the lodge, And the law 
 against murder, by perpetually repeated illegal penalties of 
 death. It thus repeals general laws by special limitations ; 
 impiously thrusts itself into the seat of the Universal Law- 
 giver, and by localizing and limiting morals destroys 
 themi Is not this conspiracy against God? 
 
 6. Then the lodge, in all its published prayer', calls its 
 Unknown God "The Grand Architect of the Universe;" 
 whereas Christ, the Bible tells us, ''made the worlds," and 
 is therefore the "Supreme Architect," but he is excluded 
 from the creed at the door of the lodge. 
 
 Such facts might be multiplied ; but these are suflacient. 
 And any one who will, may satisfy himself of their truth. 
 And just so truly aswe know they are true, just so truly do 
 we know that Freemasonry is conspiracy against God and 
 mau. 
 
 The Bibleis our sole remaining witness: Let us sum- 
 mon it to the stand. In this august volume of volumes, 
 "the true intellectual system of the universe," is set before 
 us, in simple sublimity, by its Authoi himself, like a seaof 
 glass with the conflicting winds of opinion blowing on it. 
 
 Why this conflict is endured, why He permits evil, we 
 know not; but we know that there is evil, and that it 
 struggles for the mastery of good, and that the strife is a 
 religious one. The fight opens in Eden between the relig- 
 ion of Abel and Cain; and ends in the Apocalypse when 
 the dragon is cast into the lake of fire where the beast and 
 the false prophet were cast before. And through six 
 thousand years of history, poetry, proverbs prophecy, 
 gospels, epistles, and the Revelation, the parties and princi- 
 ples in this conflict are distinctly and unmistakably mark- 
 ed. And I put the whole ca'e upon issue, with the declara- 
 tion, that every lineament and feature, principle and end 
 which mark that party in this long agony, which through- 
 out the Bible is seeking the dethronement of God and the 
 ruin of men, is found in a Masonic lodge I 
 
 The thing that separates these parties is Christ; whom 
 Abel worshiped, and Cain omitted and ignored. That game 
 lamb by which Abel worshipped Christ, "by faith, "went 
 down through the ages from true altar to true altar, till 
 seen in angel photograph at last, "as a Lamb that had 
 been slain," standing "in the midst of the throne of God," 
 where he "dieth no more." This is the atonement. 
 This is none other than God in Christ, dying to save men: 
 
14 
 
 wuile Cain as a deist, Jew, or Freemason, without faith,, 
 by a self -projected worship, ofiFered "the fruits of flie 
 earth," and proposed to be saved by practicing his relig- 
 ion ; and the Caius Of humanity have been inventing relig- 
 ioiis and murdering Abels ever since! 
 
 Let UB compare now these two religions, to wit: Gentil- 
 ism or opposition religion of the Bible, and the lodge. A 
 bare inspeciion shows them to be the same. 
 
 Now I need scarcely remind those who hear me that the 
 Bible represents Satan as the usurping "god of this world ;'" 
 the aspirant for its worships, the king of its evils, aiid the 
 god of its idolatries. As little need I remind them that 
 the lodge-god is "the god of this world." That, exclud- 
 ing Christ, the lodge has neither Falher,_ nor Son, nor 
 Holy Ghost, and that Satan holds every religious shrine on 
 earth not occupied by the true God. Both heathenism and 
 the lodge takb the world as it is, and make it continually 
 worse, as the sinking nations show. That both *ake their 
 candidates as they find them, requiring neither repentance, 
 faith or regeneration, but only fealty, money and worship. 
 As Satan would have supported Christ if Christ would 
 have worshipped him; so Masonrysupports all ministers 
 and churches which will worship at its altar, or encourage 
 others to do so, no matter what else they may be or do. 
 Both these opposition religjions olfer the same inducements 
 to join, viz: worldly glory and advantage, which was 
 Satan's offer to Christ. Both make the same promise , «a2- 
 vation to knowledge; Xo reveal something that will make 
 their members divine. "Ye shall be as gods, knowing 
 good and evil." Both call the uninitiated, though they 
 may be children of God, '■'profaTie;" which word meaning 
 "b^ore the temple "Xha\oAge'hakS taken from heathenism. 
 Both treat God and true religion as bigoted and over-strict. 
 Both dispute God, and assure men they "shall not surely 
 die." Both systems have one and the same creed, belief 
 in one supreine deity ; and as the creed makes the religion, 
 the creeds being the same the religions are one. Both 
 treat the Bible alike. Neither heathens nor Masons ever 
 printed a Bible or taught one ; but both quote and use the 
 Bible for their purposes. Masons draw millions of mon- 
 ey from the people; but the lodge never printed a Bible or 
 Testament ; but when Christians print them, the lodge 
 picks then: up, as in heathen countries it picks up heathen 
 books, carries them in its processions, places them on its 
 altars for show and quotes them in its lectures for effect, as 
 the devil quoted Scripture to Christ for his own ends. 
 
15 
 
 The Bible calls men together to serve God and to pray ; 
 the lodge to practice ceremonies and dance. The cerer 
 monies of Gentilism are frivolous, as if Satan would bur- 
 lesque worship and make it ridiculous. So nothin.sc can 
 exceed the frivolity of the lodge. There seems in 
 both too, the same devilish spite against men, and delight 
 in degrading them. In the lodge-worship at Sinai, "Aaron 
 made men naked unto their shame." (Ex. xxzii.25.) So the 
 lodge strips and fools its candidates, which begets a strange 
 desire, as in a prostituted woman, who is their Scripture 
 type, to bring others to the same degradation. 
 
 What but the most cruel spite could incite Satan to set 
 men and women to worship horses, monkeys, etc., as our 
 travelers now daily see them worshipping in Asia? The 
 only explanation is, that he hates men because of Christ 
 who died forthem, and enjoys the damning joke of their 
 degradation to cheapen their worship and spite the God 
 whom he hates, who he knows wUlone day be worshipped 
 by our race. 
 
 These, in part, are the facts and arguments which show 
 the moral identity of the opposition religions of the Bible 
 with the opposition religions of the lodge. And if two 
 different movements ever had the same nature, source, 
 end, spirit and object, these have. 
 
 For, under all these multifarious idolatries, lurks the one 
 great, all-prevading principle of rivalship and opposition 
 to the One "living and true God," and the ''only Mediator 
 between God and man." Knowing that "uo man can 
 come to the Father but by Christ ;" if Satan can displace 
 Christ from the religion of this earth, as he has displaced 
 Him from the religion of the lodge, he has shut the door 
 of hope on mankind; for Christ is that "door." "Liar 
 and murderer from the beginning," he is seeking by false 
 religions to deceive the nations and, by one stroke dis- 
 placing Christ, to murder the inhabitants of this globel 
 — as a Roman traitor wished the .'Empire had but one neck, 
 that he might sever that neck at a single blow; with this 
 infinite diflerence, that the death in this case is eternal 
 and sought by the rebel usurping god of this world, not 
 directly but indirectly, staunch and steady to the one 
 stupendous, malignant end, of making God inaccessible 
 to our race by getting control of the religions of men, and 
 sejting aside, ignoring, dropping out of them Christ Jesus, 
 who is the only way to God. 
 
 If these facts and reasonings are true, we see where we 
 are and what we have to meet. The secret orders in 
 
Cbristian lands are the outcroppings of paganism; the ad- 
 vance guards and skirmish line of the armies of the tield 
 Of Armageddon, mustering under those "spirits of devils 
 •working miracles which go forth unto the kings of the 
 tortb, and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle 
 of that great day of God Almighty." 
 
 We see, too, that all our help is in Christ, who, in 
 the quaint language of Cudworth, is appointed uf God 
 "Captain of the forces of the kingdom of light;" not that 
 we are to do no fighting, but we must conquer In Him. 
 Vainly may we hope that popery and Freemasonry, which 
 are in nature one, the latter being 1 ke the "former" as 
 the image is like the "beast," ever will purposely assist in 
 destroying each other. True, God sometimes turns the 
 swords of the enemies of His religion against each other, 
 by panic, mutiny, or mistake; but though wolves and pan- 
 thers and dogs may sometimes worry each other, they will 
 all kill sheep, and these beasts are all enemies of the flock 
 of Christ. Our help must therefore come from the Lord 
 which made heaven and earth, and it will come if we seek 
 it. 
 
 The practical inferences are : That Freemasonry must 
 be destroyed if the country is saved. That fellowship, 
 ping Freemasonry is disintegrating the church. TJiat 
 voting for adhering Masons is voting for men who in 
 practice deny the first principles of republican govern- 
 ment. And, as organized aggression can only be met 
 effectually by organized resistance ; we must unite to 
 withhold our fellowship and our votes from known ad- 
 herents of the lodge, if we will be consistent Christians 
 or consistent Americans. 
 
THE RELATION OF THE 
 
 CHRISTIAN CHURCH 
 
 SECRET SOCIETIES. 
 
 ADDRESS OF 
 
 PRESinENT H. H. GEORGE, 
 
 — :0F:— 
 
 Geneva College, West Geneva, Ohio. 
 
 AT THE SEVENTH ANinVERSABT 
 
 op THE 
 
 National Christian Association. 
 
 Pittehwrgh, Pa., June 8a, — 10«A, 187b 
 
 CHICAGO, ILLINOIS: 
 
 EZRA A. COOK. PUBLISHER. 
 
THE RELATION OF THE 
 
 CHRISTIAN CHURCH 
 
 TO 
 
 SECRET SOCIETIES. 
 
 It is needless to say, in entering upon a discussion of thii 
 subject, tliat we have no personal contest with our opponents. "W« 
 have no quarrel with any individuals identified with the secret 
 «rder^. On the other hand, for many connected with them, we 
 have a high personal regard. 
 
 But when men combine together in such associations as thiese, 
 and lay their plans to wield an influence so far reaching, so deeply 
 affecting the welfare of society, their institutions become a legiti- 
 mate subject for investigation, and their doings, whether right or 
 ' wfong, must bear the verdict of a dispassionate and scrutinizing 
 enquiry. 
 
 The assertion so often and so positively made by the firatemities, 
 
 that no one knows any thing about them except such as have been 
 
 initiated, is a very feeble defense of their cause. Aye, more, it is % 
 
 libel upon the intelligence and upon the facilities for intelligence 
 
 ^ in this noonday of the nineteenth centiuy. 
 
 Such assertions once might ha^se had some weight, but since the 
 well attested exposure of Free Masonry by Captain Wm. Morgan, 
 in the. year 1827, his abduction and murder on account of it, since 
 the secession of 45,000 members because of that candid and un- 
 equivocal exposure; and since scores of volumes of indisputable in- 
 formation have issued from the press, yes, and frpm the press of most 
 reliable craftsmen, all such assertions are but the vapid boasting? k 
 and hollow babblings of weak minded men, who ought to know 
 that they will not be believed. 
 
 To say that we have no right to investigate the principles ot 
 their organization, or examine their works of secrecy ; to say that 
 we have no right to portray their true character, or decide upoa 
 
the legitinuicy of their aims, Is presumption of no ordinal Kind; 
 it is a challenge of the inalienable rights of free thought and free 
 speech. And to brand with falsehood and treachery the testimony 
 of all those who have once been initiated into their lodges, and 
 who, from solemn convictions of duty, have come out and re- 
 nounced all connection with them, is an absurdity immeasurably 
 preposterous. 
 
 The truth is, if Masonry, (and I draw all my illustrations from 
 Masonry, believing it to be the mother of the whole brood of se- 
 cret fraternities,) be a hidden wrong, as we hold it is, the renuncia- 
 tion of it by any man, and especially by any trustworthy and re- 
 putable man, is a strong additional reason why credence should be 
 given to every word of his testimony. 
 
 When a man takes a wrong step, the only righteous course is to 
 retrace that step. "Break off thy sins by righteousness," says the 
 Holy Inspiration. 
 
 If an oath that has been taken be profane and wicked, to contin- 
 ue under that oath is to continue in profanity and wickedness. 
 No man is bound by a profane oath; no, not an hour after he is 
 convinced of its profanity. 
 
 If it can be shown that the oaths, for example of Masonry, are 
 unwarrantable, profane in their obligations and cruel in their pen- 
 alties, and ought never to have been taken, the inference is inevita- 
 ble that no Mason is bound by his oath. Nay, still stronger, that 
 every Mason is as much bound to break his oath and get rid d" 
 that species of profanity, as he is to leave off the common 
 formulas of blasphemy and pFofanity that are used in the dram 
 shop and market place. 
 
 Profanity under the solemnity of an oath is more awfully wick- 
 ed and shocking to every moral sense than the common oaths by 
 profane men. 
 
 Should we, then, summon in this discussion, for the proof ©f any 
 statement, the testimony of unimpeachable men who have been 
 under the bonds of any of the fraternities, and who, having seen 
 the evils of the association or the oaths which bound them thereto, 
 have come before the world and renounced all connection with 
 them, let it be borne in mind that this evidence is not to be ruled 
 out by the cries of falsehood and perjury, but it is to have ad- 
 
ditional weight, yes, I repeat, additional weight, from the fact 
 that such men have had honesty, piety, and courage enough, in the 
 face of all manner of reproach and insult, and even danger, to di- 
 vest themselves from all entangling oaths, to publicly confess 
 their evil course, and to uneai'th the wrongs of those associations 
 with which they had been connected. 
 
 Bat we are a;t no loss for witnesses. To the number of seceders 
 may be added a long list of most reliable adhering members, who 
 have furnished us with undoubted testimony as to the genuine 
 character of the institution. 
 
 But, without entering upon a discussion of the general subject, 
 the aspect of the question to which I ask the attention of this au- 
 dience to-night is the relation the Christian church should sustain 
 to these institutions and those connected with tliem. 
 
 Should the members of a Masonic Lodge, or any similar secret 
 society, be fellowshipped in the church, or should they not? At 
 the risk of any reproach or antagonism that may be imagined, 
 felt, or expressed by the fellows of the craft, and at therisk of little 
 or much opposition by Christian brethren in tlie churches, I take 
 the position that the church should not hold fellowship with secret 
 societies. 
 
 The general principle the Saviour of the world laid down will 
 have its application here : "He that is not with me is against me." 
 These societies are not with Christ. They refuse to mention His 
 name in their basis of organization. They mutilate their quota- 
 tions from the Word of God by expunging the Sacred name. 
 Let Daniel Sickles, in his Monitor, testify, on the 51st page, in the 
 charge at the opening of the Royal Ai-ch degree, where ten verses 
 ai-e quoted from the III chapter ot II Thessalonians, beginning 
 at the 6th verse. In the authorized version the name of our Lord 
 Jesus Christ is twice mentioned in these ten verses, while in Daniel 
 Sickles' quotation it is not to be found at all ; wholly expunged. 
 The authorized version says : "Now we command you, brethren 
 in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye withdraw your- 
 selves," &c. The Masonic version is : "Now we command you, 
 brethren, that ye withdi-aw yourselves," &c. They exclude the 
 same holy name from the authorized formulas of prayer; and in 
 like manner is it excluded from aU their universally received for. 
 mulas of religious service. 
 
6 
 
 Can the church fellowship aa institution that has no CSiristt 
 "He that is not with me is against me." 
 
 In this, as in every moral question, there is no neutral ground. 
 There is no pmuAum, indifferena. Neutrality in Christianity is 
 infidelity; neutrality in morality is immorality. 
 
 If secret societies he upon the side of Christ, if they do honor to 
 his name, and advance his kingdom, let the church shield and 
 nourish them ; let her take them to her bosom in holiest fellow, 
 ship. But if they are against Christ, if they be baaed upon cor- 
 rupt principles, if they be damaging to Church and State, if they 
 be detrimental to religion, to the timely and eternal interests of 
 immortal souls, as we propose to show, then let the church cut 
 loose from them, and rid herself of all connection with them. 
 The church is too sacred a place' to have such organizations in 
 sworn identification. 
 
 Let me now, in the first place, ask your attention for a little time to 
 the character of the church, and, after that, to the character of se- 
 cret organizations. And in the first part of the discussion I 
 must take for granted some featm'es of secret organizations that in 
 the latter pai't I shall endeavor to substantiate. 
 
 The church, then, I observe, is a most sacred institution. Com- 
 pai-ed to a building, it is set "upon the foundation of the apostles 
 and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone." 
 "In whom," viz., Jesus Christ, "all the building, fitly tramed to- 
 gether, groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord." "To whom 
 coming," says another sacred writer, "as unto a living stone, disal- 
 lowed, indeed, of men, but chosen of God and precious, ye, also, 
 as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, 
 to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus Clu'ist." 
 Sacred in her foundation, sacred in every stone of her building, 
 the last or cope stone shall be laid with shoutings of grace, grace 
 unto it 
 
 O^ that, therefore, which is against Christ, and refuses to name 
 His name, be built upon the foundation, that is, Christ? Can that 
 which is enmity to Christ, and of necessity unholy, be built up 
 and cemented together with that which is holy ? When righteous, 
 ness can hold fellowship with unrighteousness, when light can 
 hold communion with darkness, and Christ can have concord with 
 
Belial, then, and only then, can Christ's church extend her fellow, 
 ship to secret orders tliat have no Christ. 
 
 But, more minutely, the church is an organism, a unity. Nor 
 is it a unity by conventional law, it has an organic oneness, de- 
 termined by organic law, and constitutes an organic whole. It is 
 not a collection of separate Indivinuals hound together by external 
 force like the grains of sand in a cup, but it has the unity of an 
 organism, it is mouled by an inner law, it grows by developement. 
 "Its germ," as Mulford says of the nation, "lies beyond analysis, 
 and in it is enfolded its whole future." "As the days of a tree are 
 the days of my people." With the same unity and identity of 
 structure that pervades the entire tree in its roots, branches, and 
 leaves, the church is pervaded. / 
 
 When the tree, by its roots, can absorb the solid granite or the 
 block of iron, and, taking them into its circulatory organs, c.an 
 deposite them in its development, then may the church take that 
 which is essentially opposed to it, and cany it into its circulation 
 and form a growth. 
 
 The Scriptures allude to this organism under the figure of a. 
 body. The church is the body of Christ — "a body fitly joibed to- 
 gether and compacted by that which every joint supplieth* And 
 like as the hands and feet are necessary parts of the physical body, 
 so the members of the church are essential parts of the body of 
 Christ. Nor do the laws of life in the physical body act with more 
 unvarying certainty than in the body of Christ. 
 
 When poison can be injected into the veins of the arm, or into 
 an artery in the leg, and do the physical body no harm, then can 
 that which is Christless be taken into the body of Christ and pro- 
 duce no baneful results. Nor can it be objected here that the 
 church is not perfect, and that all her members have evils con- 
 nected with them, and the deduction drawn that if one form of 
 Imperfection be tolerated so may another. 
 
 There is a distinction, wide as infinity, between an imperfection 
 known and confessed and mourned over, and a gross error and a 
 flagrant wrong, believed, loved, advocated, and sworn to defend. 
 
 Were the church only an aggregation of individuals, and each 
 one of these had only a personal responsibility to his God, then 
 might one member, on conventional grounds, be in sworn identifl- 
 
cation with a Christless organization and still retain his standing. 
 But when the members aio parts of an organism formed in and 
 through the body, m'::tuaUy liable in the organic responsibility, 
 then what poisons one member vitiates the whole. If one mem- 
 ber suffers the whole body suflers. A cancer on one limb will 
 transfuse its virus into the whole system. 
 
 If secret fraternities be wrong, dishonoring to Christ, and 
 hedged in with unholy oaths, then a man in sworn league with 
 them, when he comes into the fellowship of the church and be- 
 comes a part of her organism, by that very act transmutes a share 
 of the responsibility of his secret connection to all that portion of 
 the church that receives him and defends the reception of him. 
 
 The church can't get rid of a mutual responsibility in a known 
 and sworn evil of any member whom she willingly invites to her 
 communion. 
 
 But the church is a Divine organism. The eternal God is its 
 maker. On the everla.sting hills of holiness He has set the foun- 
 dations of it. In the membership of which it is composed, it 
 was redeemed by nothing less than the precious blood of Christ. 
 Into its pale, nothing known and admitted as unholy and profane 
 can be allowed to enter. 
 
 But without its pale, beyond tUe hallowed precincts of this divine 
 organism, is every thing that is Christless and Christdishonoring. 
 "Without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, 
 and idoliters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie." The church is 
 the home and residence of its Divine Author. "The Lord hath 
 chosen Zion ; He hath desired it for his habitation. This is My 
 rest forever; here will I dwell, for I have desired it." And of His 
 character, it is said, "He is of purer eyes than to behold iniquity; 
 He cannot look upon sin." Shall that one, therefore, be admitted 
 to the churches' most sacred priveleges and to her divinest fellow- 
 ship who is in sworn league to disown the blessed name of the 
 churches' Head and Lord ? 
 
 But this same organism, in every part of its existence, is sub- 
 jected to Divine authority. Its doctrines must be those, and only 
 those, of the Divine Scriptures ; its worship is of Divine ordina- 
 tion (for God will not be mocked by any sacrifice that is only hu- 
 man) its disciptine is prescribed by Divine law, and its government 
 
9 
 
 IB equally Divine. Tlie Tabernacle, in every post, and curtain, 
 and pin, was to be constructed according to tlie pattern God 
 sliowej Mnses in tlie mount. And the profit Ezekiel, portraying 
 In vision the New Testament church, shows us "the form of the 
 house, and the feshion thereof, and the goings out thereof, and the 
 comings in thereof," and he says, "Upon the top of the mountain 
 the whole limit thereof round about is most holy. Behold this is 
 the law of the house." 
 
 Can that, therefore, that is Divine in form and fashion, in law 
 and ordinance, in the comings in and goings out, admit with im- 
 punity, and welcome to her privelege, the man that by a shocking 
 oath is sworn to set the lodge above the church, and obey Hasonic 
 law whether it conflicts or not with the law of God, revealed in 
 and through the church ? 
 
 But there is the specific statute of the Divine code given to the 
 church with reference to such associations of secrecy. "Have no 
 fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather re- 
 prove them, for it is a shame even to speak of those things which 
 are done of them in secret." 
 
 The apostle was advising the converted Ephe^ians with reference 
 to some pagan associations that met in secret, and that perpetrated 
 deeds of which it was a shame even to speak, and his injunction 
 by inspiration was, "Have no fellowship with them." 
 
 The Ephesian converts had been brought forth fi:om heathen 
 darkness into the glorious light of the gospel, and i those pagan 
 deeds were done in tue dark, and as darkness and light were an- 
 tagonisms, there could, in the nature of the case, be no fellowship. 
 Neither can modem secret fi'atemities, that are only skeletons or 
 resurrected bodies of those pagan associations, any more have fel- 
 lowship with the Divinely organized church. 
 
 But again, this organism in the members that enter into it, 
 is under solemn oath of fealty to God. Every ordinance to which 
 it admits the individual, every privelege it extends, is upon the 
 basis of oath-bound obligation. 
 
 The sacrament of the church to which her communicants are 
 admitted g^ts its signification in the taorwmentum of the Romans, 
 which was their military oath of allegiance: ''Sine quo, Rmrnnw 
 miU», jun cum hottiim pagnare non pot^at." The broken bread 
 
10 
 
 and accepted cup to the partakef are the symbols of a solemn 
 oath of fealty,, a sworn obligation to be loyal to the churches' King 
 and Lord in every thought and word and action, yea, and minutia 
 of action in life. . "Whether, therefore, ye eat or drink, or whatso- 
 ever ye do, do all to the glory of God." And this oath, more- 
 over, binds every taker thereof, body, and mind, and conscience, 
 until the day when God shaU judge the world by Jesus Christ. 
 
 How, therefore, can the church administer this solemn religious 
 oath to one who, in some dark chamber or under some cover of 
 secrecy, has taken another oath to divest the same Lord and Judge 
 of all the glory that belongs to Him? Shall the church, can the church 
 be party- to the heaping of such conflicting oaths before a jiist and 
 holy God ? Can the church allow a man to jeopardize his highest 
 and best interests in such a way? Nay, infinitely better that the 
 church close her doors against every man who so dishonors her 
 Saviour and disowns Him; until he see, and feel, and confess his 
 sin in so doing, and then, throw wide her doors to every humble, 
 penitent sinner who is ready and willing to give all honor to the 
 only Redeemer and to him alone, in every act of life. . , 
 
 But only once more as to this organism. It is ordained of God 
 to be a witness for Himself, and against every thing that dishonors 
 Him. Says Jesus to his disciples : "Ye are the light of the 
 world." And in an organized capacity, , "A city that is set on a 
 hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle and put it un- 
 der a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all 
 that are in the house." "Let your light so shine before men that 
 they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is 
 in heaven." 
 
 The churCh is the Reflector of the character of God before the 
 world and the glory of that character ; the exhibitor of Ms truth, 
 and a witness against every thing Untrue. 
 
 "Now, suppose she admits any known and palpable evil, chris- 
 tens it as a part of herself hugs it to her bosom, and consecrates 
 it to her holiest fellowship, how, after this, can she testify against 
 it? 
 
 Will she first, by law, seal and ratify a connection with it, eat 
 and drink the sacramental bread and wine with it, and then at. 
 tempt to drive it out? Admit it by law, and drive it out by moral 
 suasion ? Admit it by solemn rite, and then hurl the curses of 
 God upon it from the pulpit? Were this fair dealing by the 
 •hurch ? Were this an honorable and efllcient testimony againit 
 
11 
 
 evil? It is as when a man would take another by the beard as if 
 to kiss him and thrust the dagger into his heart. The church that 
 admits secret societies believes in them, or ought to, and ought to 
 stana by them. 
 
 ■ Nor will evils usually submit quietly to such treatment. After 
 the serpent is warmed in the bosom it is not seldom it thrusts its 
 fangs into the same bosom that warmed it. The evil spirit, for 
 aught we know, entered the demoniac without any demonstrations 
 of violence; but it went out, tearing him till he foamed and raged 
 in his paroxysms. 
 
 When the church knowingly and willingly baptizes and com- 
 munes with any flagrant evil, I know not why she should notlet it 
 enjoy in quietness all her other privileges, for the greater always 
 involves the less. 
 
 But this let-alone policy of the church to heresies in doctrine, 
 and evils in practice, because, forsooth, she has admitted them, 
 has oft-times rendered her an unfaithful witness to the truth God 
 has. committed to her trust, and lent her influence to the protection 
 and propagation, rather than the suppression of such evils; 
 
 What, for example, has more bolstered up the unhallowed asso- 
 ciations of secrecy than the fact that the church has fellowshiped, 
 them ? Have they not pointed to the church as their protec- 
 tion 1 Have they not boldly referred to the names of leading min- 
 isters, aye. Doctors of Divinity, in connection with them, and 
 spoken of them as their"Tower3 of Strength!" Have not Christless 
 associations been exalted to positions of honor by reason of their 
 standing in the church ? 
 
 Where would these or any other evils have been found had the 
 entire evangelical church pointed, her testimony againstthem? 
 Their Insignia of honor would have been flung, as the idols of the 
 heathen before the light of Christianity, to the moles and the bats; 
 and they would have vanished as snow before the sun. 
 
 The power of the churches' testimony is incalculable, were it 
 clear, and pointed, and untrammeled by unholy connections with 
 tvils. When they could build a breast-work that would stop the 
 coming tide of the ocean, then might inventors of evil hope to 
 wrest the triumphant victories of the churches' united testimony. 
 
 When they could check the spreading rays of a rising sun, then 
 might the dark chambers of secre^ hope to set bounds to the ad- 
 
lit 
 
 vajicing light and truth of the church. 
 
 But if the church noiurishes and feeds, if she protects and builds 
 up such institutions, she closes her own lips, she puts her light 
 under a bushel, she blunts her arrows of truth, she weakens her 
 strength, and falls in her design to be a reflector of God's truth and 
 character, to be the city set upon a hill, that cannot be hid. 
 
 The church is God's organism to reflect the light of heaven 
 upon a dark world, and if her light he darkness, how great is that 
 darkness ? 
 
 With this hasty sketch of the constitution and character of the 
 church, let us now turn to the Institutions of Secrecy themselves, and 
 see wherein they furnish reasons why they should not be admitted 
 to the sacred privileges of the church. And, as by the fruit, the 
 character of the tree may be known, so, by their fruit, they may 
 be characterized. 
 
 Inasmuch, therefore, as they have no Christ, the first denomina- 
 tion we must apply to them is Unchristian or Anti-Christian. Al- 
 though the assertion is made by some of modern times that Christ 
 is named in the Lodge, and His name is used in prayer; yet 
 standard authorities all agree in an opposite statement. 
 
 In Chase's Digest of Masonic Law, we read on page 206, "We 
 now hold as our forefathers held, and as we hope our posterity to 
 hold, that from the votaries of Masonry-is expected and required a 
 sincere belief in the existence of a God, the Creator and Governor 
 of the world, and that beyond this great principle of faith it is 
 not lawful to impose any religious test as a requisite for admission 
 to any mysteries." Again, on same page, "We can find no reason 
 for interdicting any otherwise worthy applicant, who firmly be- 
 lieves in the existence of a Supreme Being, nor can we allow of 
 any right to interrogate him further as to his religious belief." 
 
 While God has said, "He that hath not the Son," viz., Jesus 
 Christ, "hath not the Father," Masonry says, "We cannot allow 
 any right to interrogate a man as to his religious belief farther 
 than his belief in God." Same book, p. 308, Blue Lodge, 
 "Masonry has nothing whatever to do with the Bible. It is not 
 founded on the Bible; if it was, it would not be Masonry; it would 
 be something else." Same page, "Freemasonry calls no man to 
 account for his belief of any religion on the Globe." The Jew, 
 who actually crucified the Son of God, may be as good a Maaon. 
 ati the Christian who beheves in Him— and so may the Hottentot 
 
18 
 
 Albert G. Mackey, whose Lexicon of Si'eemasonry no intelli- 
 gent member of tlie craft will deny as of standard authority, says, 
 page 403, "The religion of Masonry is pure Theism, on which its 
 different members engraft their own peculiar opinions, but they 
 are not permitted to introduce them into the Lodge, or to connect 
 their truth or falsehood with the truth of Masonry." That is, 
 stating it in a different form, if a man should engraft on the The- 
 ism of Masonry a Christian opinion, or a belief in Christ, he must 
 not introduce this into the Lodge ; or, stated yet again, Christ or 
 Christianity must not be introduced into the Lodge. Is it not, 
 therefore, an Anti-Christian institution ? 
 
 But this feature further appears in that they indulge a hope of 
 salvation, which they base solely on morality. 
 
 Robert M'aooy, whose authority is undoubted, says, in his cyclo- 
 pedia ; "'Let us then, by our practice and conduct in life, show 
 that we carry our emblems worthily and as the children of light, 
 that we have turned our backs on works of darkness, obsciirity 
 and drunkenness, hatred and malice, ISatan and his dominions, 
 preferring benevolence, iustice, temperance, chastity, and brotherly 
 love, as the acceptable sermceoa which the great Master of all, from 
 His beatitude, looks down with approbation," &c. That is, obliv-, 
 ious of the fact that there is a Christ, or that he died to atone for 
 sinners, and reader them acceptable to God, high Masonic author- 
 ity makes charity, temperance, justice, &c., "the acceptable service 
 on which God looks down with approbation." In other words, it 
 substitutes Masonic charity, &c., for the crucifixion on Calvary ! 
 
 Again, Mackey says uhderthewordacacian, it is "a term derived 
 from akakia, innocence, and signifying a Mason who, by living in 
 strict obedience to the obligations and precepts of the fraternity, 
 is free from sin." 
 
 While God says, "Without the shedding of blood there is no re- 
 mission of sin," Masonry says by living in strict obedience to the 
 obligations and precepts of the fraternity, there is freedom from 
 >in. 
 
 Daniel Sickles, in summing up the first three degrees of En- 
 tered apprentice, Fellow Craft, and Master Mason, says : "These 
 three degrees thus form a jjerfect and a harmonious whole; nor 
 can we conceive that any thing can be suggested more which the 
 soul of man requires." 
 
 And still farther in proof of this anti-Christian character, the 
 veiy morality on which they rest the hope, even of salvation, is, 
 
14 
 
 by their own interpretation, of the very lowest kind. 
 
 As to their charities, old men, and cripples, and idiots, and 
 women are unprivileged. 
 
 Those characters that so often are in very deed the objects of 
 charity, must be wholly and entirely excluded from that charity 
 that is claimed to be so acceptable to God and so sahatory to the 
 soul. Says Sickles: "The person who desires to be made a Ma- 
 son, must be a man of sound body and mind, not deformed or dis- 
 membered, but hale and sound in his physical conformation, hav- 
 ing his right limbs as a man ought to have." 
 
 Says Mackey : "No atheist, eunuch or woman can be admitted." 
 "An idiot could not understand the duties and obligations imposed 
 and an atheist would not respect them." 
 
 The lame, the halt, and the blind, such that Jesus Christ had 
 compassion upon and healed. Masonic law exclude from its sym- 
 pathies. 
 
 As to the justice of the institution, men are sworn, under the 
 most horrid penalties, to defend their brother craftsman in any 
 crime, to defend him ever and always. 
 
 In the Master Mason's degree murder and treason are excepted 
 in this defense, if the candidate elect so to do ; but in the Royal 
 Arch degree the candidate swears a most cruel oath to assist a 
 companion in any difficulty, and espouse his cause so far as to ex- 
 tricate him from the same, if in his power, whether he be right or 
 wrong. 
 
 Mark the last clause: "whether he be right or wrong." Murder 
 and treason here axe not excepted, and this is the justice said to be 
 aeceptMeto Ood. 
 
 What can furnish a greater premium on villainy, and a stronger 
 incitement to murder, than to know that a sworn Lodge stands be- 
 hind the murderer and traitor to shield them from the just pen- 
 alty of a righteous law f 
 
 But as to purity, drunkenness is practically no barrier, pro- 
 vided the drunkard can keep the secret ; chastity is a Masonic 
 virtue, go far as a brother Mason's wife, sister, daughter or motlier 
 are concerned, but farther, there is no law. 
 
 A man may lie ten thousand times to keep the secret, but lies 
 innumerable, in keeping the secret, will not detract from the grade 
 on the Masonic scale. 
 
 What must be the verdict of genuine truth and purity upon 
 such morality as this ? Is it not a misnomer f Is it not an under- 
 mining of the foundations of Christian morality ? A substitution 
 
J8 
 
 for it, of grossest immorality? ftmdamentally afltagonistic to 
 Christ and all the principles of His religion ? 
 
 But once more as to the anti-Christian character of these insti- 
 tutions. They are essentially, as well as formally, pagan. Cast in 
 the mold of ancient pagan secret societies. 
 
 Masonry asserts the claim to be both ancient and honorable. 
 In Rebold's History of Freemasonry in Europe we are told that 
 Syinbolie Masonry originated at Apple Tree tavern, in London, 
 June 24th, 1717. And yet we readily grant, that in their spirit 
 and essence, in their cast and mould, their constitution and rules 
 of government, they may rightfully count kinship with more an- 
 cient institutions, formed in the darkness of heathenism;, societies 
 that perpetarted in the dark, deeds of which it was a shame even 
 to speak.' 
 
 Come with me, and let us look for a moment at a vision we find ' 
 recorded in (-ne of the books of former inspiration. God's Ancient 
 Israel had lapsed into Idolatiy, until the storm cloud of His 
 wrath seemed ready .'to burst with destructive fury upon them; 
 when the prophet Ezekiel was permitted in vision to enter into 
 one of their secret societies, and portray what he saw in their 
 chambers of imagery. 
 
 The description is graphic, the analogy is complete, and the 
 illustration most sti-iking. But let us read : "And he brought me 
 to the door of the court, and when I looked, behold a hole in the 
 ■wall." This hole was only an outer mark directing to inner dis- 
 coveries. "Then said heunto me, Son of man dig now in the wall. 
 And when I had digged in the wall, behold a door." The door 
 was hidden from view — it was behind the wall. 
 
 The door of the Lodge must be effectually barred and guarded 
 by Tyler and sword so that, no Cowan shall be admitted, to pre- 
 vent all old men in theirdotage, and young men in their nonage, 
 idiots and women from entering into it. 
 
 "And he said unto me, goin, and behold the wicked abominations 
 that they do here;" descriptive of the ceremonies of initiation 
 into the Lodge room, the administration and reception of most 
 shocking oaths, the formulas of Christless worship, and especially 
 the prostitution of the most sacred ordinances of baptism and the 
 Lord's supper. "So I went in and saw; aqd behold every form 
 of creeping things, and abominable beasts, and all the idols of the 
 house of Israel, portrayed upon the wall round about." A figure 
 of Symbolic Masonry with the symbols taken from the civilization 
 of Christianity. The lamb must he killed, that the skin of it jin 
 
16 
 
 the fonn of a little apron, may remind the wearer of that purily 
 of life so essentially necessary to his gaining admission into the 
 Celestial Lodge above, where the Supreme Architect of the Uni- 
 verse presides. — Sickles' Monitor. 
 
 The single slipper is symbolic of the testimony in Israel, when 
 a man plucked off his shoe and gave it imto his neighbor. 
 
 The Mosaic pavement an emblem of human life, checkered with 
 good and evil. 
 
 The Square, of mortality ; the Level, of equality; and the Plumb, 
 of rectitude of conduct. 
 
 The compasses pointing to the naked breast, the pot of in- 
 cense, the sword pointing to the naked heart, the anchor and 
 the ark are all symbols. The latter an emblem of that Divine Ark 
 which safely wafts us over this tempestuous sea of troubles, and 
 next last, of that Anchor which shall safely moor us in a peaceful 
 harbor, "where the wicked cease from troubling and the weary 
 shall find rest." 
 
 Bzekiel tells of the symbols used in that day, Sickles, and oth- 
 ers, inform us of the symdols used to-day. 
 
 But the record proceeds, "And there stood before them seventy 
 men of the ancients of the house of Israel, and in the midst of 
 them stood Jaazania, the son of Shaphan, with every man his 
 censer in his hand; and a thick cloud of incense went up." 
 
 Those ancients if designated now, would be Master, Most Wor- 
 shipful Master, Past Grand Commander, Most Puissent Gfand 
 Commander, ad infinitum. 
 
 But Ezekiel informs us they were busy praying in their Lodge 
 room, till the incense was dense, and went up in a thick cloud; 
 nor is modern Masonry without abundance of prayers. 
 
 The prophet was now questioned as to their works:' "Son of 
 man, hast thou seen what the ancients of the house of Israel do 
 in the dark, every man in the chambers of his imagery ? for they 
 say the Lord seeth us not, the Lord hath forsaken the earth." 
 
 How characteristic! Their service was all in the dark, every 
 man, in the chambers of his imagery, doing such things as they 
 knew the Lord would not approve, and, in their atheism and folly, 
 they said, "The Lord sees us not, He has forsaken the earth." 
 
 But there were degrees in those heathen societies as well as now. 
 "He said also unto me : Turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see 
 greater abominations that they do. Then he brought me to the 
 door of the gate of the Lord's house, which was toward the north, 
 and behold, there sat women, weeping for Lammuz." 
 
IT 
 
 The service of this degree is, without any blush or hesitiition, 
 adopted in the ceremonies of Modern Masonry; therelsy unmis- 
 takably identifying it with thoseHeathen societies. 
 
 On the authority of Jerome and others of the l''athers, the word 
 Lammuz was the Hebrew name for Adonis, a Syrian idol, of which 
 Mackey says: "The mysteries of Adonis were at one time intro- 
 duced into Judea, when the Hebrew women were aCcustomfed to 
 hold an annual lamentation for him under the name of Laminuz. 
 of which Ezekiel speaks, viii : 14, 'behold there sat women weep- 
 ing for Lammuz.' " 
 
 He further says, "The cultivation of the mysteries of Adonis 
 was propagated from Phoenicia into Assyria, Babylonia, Persia, 
 Greece, and Sicily." Quotingfrom one of the Fathers, Julius Fen- 
 nicius, Mackey interprets the ceremonies of Adonis : 
 
 "On a certain night an image is laid out upon a bed, and be- 
 wailed in mournful strains. At lenght, when they are satiated 
 with their fictitious lamentation, light is introduced, and the priest, 
 having first annointed the mouths of those who had been weeping, 
 whispers with a gentle murmer, 'Trust ye, initiates,' for the God 
 being saved, out of pains salvation shall arise to us." Hence says 
 he, "the ceremonies were a representation of the death and resur- 
 rection of Adonis in the person of the aspirant." 
 
 But there is another degree in the Lodge Ezekiel saw by vision : 
 "Then said he unto me, Hast thou seen this, O Son of Man f turn 
 thee yet again and thou shalt see greater abominations than these. 
 And he brought me into the inner court of the Lord's house, and 
 behold, at the door of the Lord, between the porch and the altar, 
 were about five and twenty men, with their backs toward the tem- 
 ple of the Lord, and their faces toward the east, and they wor- 
 shipped the sun toward the east" Strikingly illustrative of the 
 Entered Apprentice when, blindfolded and half naked, he is led 
 around and around the Lodge room ; at length he is brought to 
 the Worshipful Master in the east, when it is demanded, whence 
 came he? and whither is he traveling? and is made to answer, a 
 poor, blind candidate, traveling from the west to the east in search 
 of light With his back on the temple of God, he has gone to 
 worship the lights of Masomy. 
 
 After this vision is ended, hear the awful verdict by Jehovah: "Is 
 it a light tiling to the house of Judah that they commit the abom- 
 inations which they commit here, for they have filled the land 
 With violence, and have returned to provoke me to anger, and lo 
 they put the branch to their nose. Therefore will I also deal in 
 
IS 
 
 toy, mine eye shall not spare, neiOier will I have pity, and though 
 they cry in mine ears with a loud voice, yet will I not hear them." 
 What now shall be said about holding fellowship or identifying 
 with such fraternities? Can that institution so undoubtedly anti- 
 Christian, so unmistakably immoral, so purely heathen, be hugged 
 to the bosom of the church? Can it sit down at that holy table, 
 and jom in that sacramental oath that binds the communicants 
 m a holy brotherhood, and pledges them to like holy and con- 
 'sisttofwalk before God? Can it at one hour receive the sacra, 
 ment Dlyiiely authorized in thfe church, and, at another be found 
 administering or taking, in a most blasphemous and impious manner 
 the same symbols in a lodge room ? When Christ can fellowship Beli- 
 al, then may such be taken into the church. But until holiness and 
 smai'e the same thing, until light and darkness agree, and pure 
 religion and heathenism become twin sisters, let the church Hear 
 the imperative injunction, "Have no fellowship with the unfruit- 
 ful works of darkness, but rather reprove them." 
 
 "Another argument why the church should not fellowship t^lem 
 is that they are injurious to her success. For example, they in- 
 jure her growth by deluding men with a vain show of religion. 
 
 ■ It is the smaller portion of the Masonic fraternity' that eyer, has 
 been admitted to the church, or had any desire towards it; and for 
 at least, a very natural reason, that the institution of itself claims 
 to be a religion. Every where its manifestoes, Isiws and IJy-laws 
 crops out the idea that to be a true Mason is to be tru/y religious. 
 
 • President Finney, quoting from standard Masonic authority, 
 says, "The principles of Freemasonry have the same coeternal and 
 unshaken foundations, contain and inculcate tlie same truths in 
 substance, and propose the same ultimate end as the doctrines of 
 Christianity." 
 
 In advancing to the Fourth degree it says, "He has a name 
 which no man knoweth save him that receiveth it." "If, therefore, 
 he be rejected and cast forth among the rubbish of the world^ he 
 knows full -well that the Great Master builder of the imiverse; hav- 
 ing chosen and prepai'ed him a lively stone in that spiritual 
 
 J building in the heavens, will bring him forth in triumph, while 
 shouting grace, grace to the Divine Redeemer. And when he Opens 
 the Fourth degree, he discovers his election to, and his glorified sta- 
 tion in the kingdom of his Father," 
 
 For What end, then, are the religious services of baptism and 
 the Lord's supper? Why such loud and oft repeated boastings 
 that the Bible is the main book in the Lodge ? Why so many 
 
19 
 
 prayers, and so much pretension of religion ? 
 
 The design is manifestly to suhstitute Masonry for the church, 
 to lead men to feel, as thousands of them express, -'that JVIasomy 
 is all the religion we want." 
 
 The effect of all this is to prevent men from coming to the- 
 church, to satisfy them in being out of the church, thereby pre- 
 venting the growth of the church, thwarting her aim to convert 
 the •world, and damaging her moat vital interests. 
 
 These secret societies have too often proved but the recruiting 
 offices of the great enemy set over against the gates of Zion. 
 
 Shall the church admit such as conspire against her ? 
 
 But suppose the member of the fraternity joins in holy com- 
 munion with God's people on the Sabbath. Is not the direction 
 to such as have received Christ to walk in Him ; to avoid all ap- 
 pearance of evil, to walk worthy of the high vocation wherewith 
 they are called ? 
 
 But into what does the Lodge lead him? Who are his compan- 
 ons there ? The Monitor tells us : "The distant Chinese, the wild 
 Arab, and the American savage will embrace a brother Briton, and 
 know that, beside the common ties of humanity, there is still a 
 stronger obligation to induce him to kind and friendly offices I 
 Aye, with blasphemers, drunkards, and men who will dishonor 
 and deny the verj' name over which he ate sacramental bread yes- 
 terday." 
 
 With men of this character he must be a companion, aye, Ijound 
 to them by oaths most fearful. 
 
 Can it otherwise than injure the church when it thus traduces 
 the life and walk of her members ? 
 
 Does it not bring stigma upon the church, give occasion to the 
 infldel and the unbeliever to scoff at religion, repudiate and des- 
 pise the cLarch? 
 
 Shall the church, then, so weaken her power, so counteract her 
 influence, so forestall her testimony for Christ and holiness of life, 
 as to swear into her communion one already sworn and re-sworn 
 to companionship with Chinese, wild Arabs, Savages, Jews, and 
 Heathen, and Infidels of every kind? 
 
 ; But these fraternities, when admitted to the church, cripple her 
 energies. 
 
 In her courts end conferences, her synods and presbyteries, they 
 become partisans. Their league with one another binds them, 
 when in the church, in the face of all the administration of healthy 
 discipline, or the proper execution of the ecclesiastical ism. 
 
20 
 
 They are sworn to band together in each other'« defense, whether 
 right 01- wrong; if they do not, the horrid penalties of their oath* 
 aie hanging over their heads. And what is this, but undermining 
 the very foundations of the church ? 
 
 The Masonic minister, whether pastor of a congi-egation, or 
 a member of a conference or synod, swears tp be true to his 
 fellow craftsman in any case pending between him and an uniniti- 
 ated brother. So the Masonic witness, called to give testimony, if 
 either of the parties on trial be a craftsman, is under the heaviest 
 penalties to defend him, whether right or wrong. 
 
 That is, all these members of fraternities, while in the church, 
 must be in subordination to a higher and more worthy relation in 
 the lodge ; or in other words, the church, as to her law and order 
 and discipline, must bow at the nod, and sm'render at the dicta of 
 members of a heathen institution ! 
 
 Can the church fellowship that which undermines her founda- 
 tions, impedes her growth, disgraces her membership, and clogs 
 the wheels of her entire machinei-y V 
 
 The unvarying demand of the church, of all those linked with 
 these fraternities, who come to- her for admission, should be, 
 "Come out from among them and be ye sepsu-ate, saith the Lord, 
 and touch not the unclemi thing; and 1 will receive you." 
 
 I have just one more general argument why the church should 
 not fellowship these societies, and that is, Because they are ene- 
 mies to the public welfare. 
 
 The mission of the church is Ui benelit society, to ameliorate 
 the condition of mankind, and to promote all the interests of a 
 common humanity. 
 
 Her character for impartial benevolence will be compromised 
 bj- admitting that whicli is a misnomer for benevolence. 
 
 ITer generosity that is unrestricted, her charity tliat suffers long 
 and is kind, will be counteracted by an a,tHliation with that which 
 in so many ways is an enemy to the public good. 
 
 These fraternities m-e intensely selfish. They would monopolize 
 all the privileges of society for their own aggrandizemfent. 
 
 They pi-ofess benevolence, they practice unalloyed selfishness. 
 
 They combine to further each others interests. If a Mason be 
 a mechanic or a business man he is patronized by Masons. 
 
 A minister taking charge of a congregation,' is often made to 
 understand that Masonry is the door of access to the hearts of the 
 people, that his success depends on it; he yields and is initiated, 
 and the craft is sworn to stand beside him. 
 
91 
 
 The phjmieian geta practice by it. And thus, those social prir- 
 lleges guaranteed to all men equally, are so often and so flagrantly 
 abused by the intense selfishness of secret societies. 
 
 But they wrong the public in oft-times defeating the ends of jus- 
 tice. I wait not to turnish examples, though many well attested ar« 
 on record, and fresh in the minds of living men. 
 
 If true to their oaths they must defeat justice. They are sworn 
 to conceal and never reveal any secret crime of a brother, to es- 
 pouse the cause of a companion when involved in any dfflcalty, 
 and extricate him from the same, whether he be right or wrong, 
 murder and treason not excepted. 
 
 Mackey lays down the principle. Says he: "Treason and rebel- 
 lion also, because they are altogether political oflfenses, caimot be 
 inquired into by a lodge, and although a Mason may be convicted 
 of either of these acts in the courts of his country, he cannot be 
 Masonically punished. Notwithstanding his treason or rebellion, 
 his relation to the Lodge, to use the language of the old charges, 
 remains indefeasible." » 
 
 What can the practical effect of such a principle be but to over- 
 throw a government, and screen men from the just punishment of 
 their crimes ? These fraternities, in declaring their sovereignty, 
 make no exception of the authority of civil courts or the sover- 
 eignty of States. 
 
 The Lodge acknowledges no sovereignty above itself It as- 
 sumes the prerogative of the State in administering oaths. It far 
 transcends the State in its penalties ; for while the violation of 
 State law subjects to fines and imprisonments, and for capital 
 crimes, the gallows. Masonry attaches for the violation of the Ma- 
 sonic law, the horrid penalties of having the throat cut from ear 
 to ear, the tongue torn out by the roots, the heart.and bowels cut 
 out, and the body buried in the rough sands of the sea. 
 
 The death penalty by the State is for but one, and that the greats 
 est crime known among men, namely, the shedding of man's 
 blood; but the shocking, cruel, and barbai-ous death-penalty by 
 Masonic law, is for the revelation of a secret, a foolish and unwar- 
 ranted secret. 
 
 The government of secret societies is a conspiracy against State 
 government ; it would overthrow and destroy the State to perpetu- 
 ate itself. 
 
 Can the church fold to her bosom that which so wrongs society? 
 Is lie church an enemy to good government? To all the highest 
 and best interests of humanity ? Can she bolster up a machinery 
 
32 
 
 available to bad men for the very worst of, purposes? Can -she 
 gear a wheel of it to her divine machinery, and thus furnish a 
 portion of its power for evil? 
 
 That institution, the church, that God has put on this earth to 
 bless it, to take part with every' thing that blesses mankind, to 
 clothe the naked, feed the poor, and ameliorate the condition of 
 mankind in every rank of life, can she take into sworn alliance 
 and holiest fellowship a man that is in sworn league with another 
 institution that wrongs society, interferes with justice, and under- 
 mines the very foundations of lawful government? 
 
 When Christ and anti-Christ can covenant together, and join in 
 holy communion, then can Christ's church, holy as himself in her 
 organization, worship, discipline, and government, join in fellow- 
 ship with that which is Christless, immoral and heathenish, with 
 that which would strike down the church and overthrow society. 
 
 President Finney says, in concluding his admirable work: 
 "Those individuals and churches who have had the best means of 
 information, owe it to other branches of the church, and to the 
 whole world, to take action and pronounce upon the unchristian 
 character of Freemasoniy, as the most influential means within 
 their reach of arousing the whole church and the world to an ex- 
 amination of the character and claims of Freemasonry. 
 
 "If churches who are known to have examined the subject with- 
 hold their testimony, if they continue to receive persistent and 
 intelligent Freemasons, if they leave the public to infer that they 
 see nothing in Freemasonry inconsistent with a creditable profes- 
 sion of the Christian religion, it will be justly inferred by other 
 branches of the church, and by the world, that there is nothing in 
 it so bad, so dangerous and unchristian as to call for their exam- 
 ination, action or testimony." 
 
 He informs us that before the publication of Morgan's book the 
 Baptist church especially, and many ministers and members of 
 other branches of the church, had fallen into the snare, and were 
 asleep upon the subject when the murder of Morgan and the con- 
 sequent revelations "burst upon them like a clap of thunder iiom 
 the clear sky." 
 
 The astounding facts thereby brought to light led to both the re- 
 nouncing and denouncing of the institution. 
 
 "The churches almost universally passed resolutions disfeUow- 
 shipping adhering Masons." And further he says, "it is worthy 
 of all consideration and remembrance that God set the seal of Hta 
 
approibatioa upon the action taken by those churches at that time 
 by pouring out His spirit upon them." 
 
 Great revivals immediately follow over that whole region, one 
 after another, until in 1830 "the greatest revival took place that 
 had ever been known in this or any other country." Nor are such 
 results strange, or to be unlocked for. G-od always blessed His 
 church in putting away her idols, and separating herself from all 
 unhallowed associations. 
 
 The brightest epohcs in the history of the church were those Refor- 
 mation periods, when she cut in sunder those fetters of superstition 
 that had long fastened her as in the stocks ; tlirew off the shackles 
 of ignorance, and emancipated herself from the thralldom of anti- 
 Christian entanglements. 
 
 Although she trod through the fires of persecution, took shelter 
 in the rocks and fastnesses of the mountains, was hunted by blood 
 thirsty dragoons, felt the torture of the thumb screw and the rack, 
 sealed her testimony beneath the guillotine and amid the stake fires, 
 yet "God was her refuge and her strength in those troublous times." 
 
 God walked with her through the fire and the flood. He dwelt 
 in the midst of her so that nothing could move her from her fidel- 
 ity ; "He proved a helper to her, and that right early." 
 
 To those Reformation eras we look back with becoming pride, 
 as to the birth day of the civil and religious liberty we have, and 
 the birth place of m.any a glorious institution we now possess. 
 
 Did God bless a Luther, a Calvin, a Knox, "Wesley and Whit 
 field in bursting asunder the bonds of anti-Christian tyranny — cut- 
 ting loose from every pagan connection, and coming out from all 
 the flagrant and gross immoralities, and shall He not to-day set 
 His seal of approbation upon like fidelity ? 
 
 Should all the branches of the evangelical church unite to-day in 
 a firm, unyielding, uncompromising covenant contract to have no 
 fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, to put awaj 
 every thing Christless and Christ dishonoring and swear anew their 
 loyalty to Jesus Christ, the King and Head of Zion, one grand 
 feature of such a covenanted unity would be, that God, from His 
 holy habitation, would look down in love upon His church, and 
 pour out His spirit like rain on mown grass, or showers that wa- 
 ter the eai-th. 
 
 Another glorious result would be that all these Christless organ- 
 izations would be swept from the earth before the tremendous pow- 
 er of a united church, like the floating spar is swept before the 
 resistless tide of the mightv ocean. 
 
94 
 
 And another sublime feature of such a united covenaut would 
 be, the forecasting of a brighter period in the future, the harbinger 
 of a better day, the dawn of that era when all men every where, 
 renouncing every thing that dishonors or fails to honor the Lord 
 Jesus Christ, shall write, "Holiness to the Lord," upon their bodies, 
 and spirits, their names and estates, their time and talents, and all 
 they are and hope to be. 
 
 Then, and then only, shall men be blessed in the Lord Jesus 
 Christ, and all the nations of the earth shall call Him blessed. 
 Then shall be verified those sublime strains of Cowper : 
 '^One Bong employB all nations, and »11 cry, 
 Worthy la the Lamb, for He was slain for us ; 
 The dwellers in the vales, and in the rocks 
 Shout to each other, and the mountain tops, 
 From distant mountains catch the flying Joy, 
 Till, nation after nation taught the straiu, 
 Barth rolls the rapturous Hosanua rouud." 
 
ADD RESS 
 
 -OBi- 
 
 Rev. J. G. CARSON, D. D. 
 Prof. U. P. Theological Seminary, 
 
 DBLIVERED AT 
 
 The Ohio State Anti-Secrecy Convention 
 
 Wbmtbbvillb, Ohio., MA.Rca Sth, 1870. 
 
 —SUBJECT:— 
 
 SECRET SOCIETIES; 
 
 The Relation and Duty of the Church and 
 her members toward them,. 
 
 CHICAGO, ILLIN-OIS: 
 
 EZRA A. COOK. PUBLISHER. 
 
SECRET SOCIETIBS. 
 
 2%« Belatiou and Duty of the Church and her Members towwrd 
 
 them. 
 
 BY KBV, J. Q. CABSON, D. D. 
 
 It is proposed to establish the truth of the following propo- 
 sition, viz.: "That associations formed for political, benevolent 
 or other purposes, which impose upon their members an oath of 
 secrecy, or an obligation to obey a code of unknown laws are 
 inconsistent with the genius and spirit of Christianity, and 
 church members ought not to have fellowship with them." 
 
 This declaration contains a statement of principle, and an 
 inference from it: the latter followini; as an irresistible conse- 
 quence from the former : for if we can show that these associa- 
 tions in spirit and workings, are inconsistent with those princi- 
 ples of God's word which Christians universally recognize as 
 of. paramount obligation, then it will follow that members of 
 the church — not of this or that one, but of every church, ought 
 not to have fellowship with them. And if Christians can but be 
 convinced of the sinfulness of their connection with such asso- 
 ciations, and be persuaded to sever or keep aloof from all such 
 connection ; if the church of God would but use her influence 
 and lift up her testimony against this great and growing evil 
 of secretism, the power of these societies, for evil, would be so 
 weakened as to excite little alarm. And on the other hand, the 
 presence of church members in them, and the silent indiffer- 
 ence or active encouragement of the church of God regarding 
 them, is that which gives them respectability and constitutes the 
 chief part of their strength, just as formerly was the case with 
 slavery in this land 
 
 The church cannot afford to occupy a neutral, much less a 
 friendly position towards them ; for, if they belong to the ' ' un- 
 fruitful works of darkness," as I think can easily be shown, 
 then she is bound not only '' to have no fellowship with them, 
 but rather to reprove them." If, as I think will be evident as 
 we proceed, they belong to the world that lieth in the wicked 
 one — the god of this world — then they are the enemies of 
 Christ and his kingdom, from which she is bound to maintain 
 a complett) separation, and with which she must wage an un 
 cotdpromising war. And what is the duty of the church is 
 the duty of individual Christians. 
 
The question is one of inteasely i»ractioal importance, aii<l 
 nothing can be more amaxing than the apparent apathy and In 
 difference of the churches generally on this subject, as former- 
 ly on the subject of slavery, unless it be the impudence and 
 arrogance of these societies in claiming recognition and en- 
 couragement and at the same time resisting and bitterly resent- 
 ing all investigation and judgment of the character and truth 
 of these claims. Indeed the very attempt to screen themselves 
 from public observation, and honest, candid investigation, is 
 itself a confession of weakness and is the old cry of the demons, 
 to which the enemies of Christ and truth have always resorted 
 to stifle inquiry, saying, " Let us alone, what have we to do 
 with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth f " But despite all these at- 
 tempts by ridicule, defamation, and even persecution and vio- 
 lence to stop our mouths, we claim the right in the name of 
 the Master, and are bound in faithfulness to Him — and to this 
 point it must come sooner or later with all the churches, to in- 
 quire, " Art thou for us, or for our enemies f" — " to try the spir- 
 its whether they are of God." 
 
 Now, in the pursuit of this inquiry it is not necessary for oa 
 to become members of these societies, or to pry into what they 
 call their secrets in order to ascertain their true character. We 
 need only to examine the principles which confessedly under- 
 lie their organization, and the character and tendency of their 
 legitimate workings, and show that these are inconsistent 
 with the principles laid down in the word of God. "To the law 
 and to the testimony if they speak not according to this word 
 it is because there is no light in them." Nor is it necessary to 
 deny that there is anything good in these associations, or to as- 
 sert that all of them are equally bad. But if on the whole they 
 are evil in their tendency and workings ; if there are some things 
 necessarily belonging to all of them which are wrong and sinful ; 
 if connection with any of them involves the Christian in acts of 
 at least doubtful propriety, and closes his mouth against the 
 acknowledged evils of the more dangerous societies, then we 
 are warranted in drawing the conclusion that Christians ought 
 not to have fellowship with them ; and if I shall succeed in per- 
 suading a single one of my fellow Christians, who have become 
 entangled in the anare of unholy conformity, to break that con- 
 nection, or prevent any one from becoming involved in such 
 connection, I shall feel amply rewarded. I appeal to your un- 
 derstanding, not to your prejudices; to your reaeou and coik. 
 science, not to your passions. "I speak as unto wise men, 
 Judge ye what I say." 
 
I Pbinoipleb of ths Oboahization. 
 
 l8t. The first reason I ■Vfotild oflfer why these associationg are 
 inconsistent with the j^enius and spirit of Christianity, is that 
 they constitute an a/rtiHeial relation of fraternity or brotherhood, 
 ihe obligations of which are inconHftent with the d/iitiea we owe to 
 ovr fellow Tnen in those relationt which Qod has established and in 
 which h» has placed us. 
 
 God has instituted the hrotherhoods of man or society, of the 
 family, and of the church. These have their foundations ei- 
 ther m the nature of man, or in his relation to God through 
 Christ. The obligations of these relations, the family, the 
 church, and the state, are divinely imposed ; are neither arbi- 
 trary nor voluntary ; which can neither be assumed nor laid 
 a^ide at pleasure. Every one is born into the family, and into 
 society, and even when joining the church (as we express it,) 
 although in one sense a voluntary act, yet he thereby merely 
 recognizes and acknowledges those obligations which every 
 one owes to his God and Saviour. These relations being thus 
 divinely appointed and regulated, are designed and adapted to 
 move on together and co-operate harmoniously like the planets 
 of the solar system in their several spheres, their duties and ob- 
 ligations neither interfering nor conflicting with each other. 
 But it is not so with these associations. The relation of frater- 
 nity which they form is a purely artificial one, having its fonn- 
 datton neither in nature nor in grace. Certainly it is not of Di- 
 vine institution, and cannot be referred to any of those natural 
 or gracious relations which he has instituted, the duties and 
 obligations of which are imposed by purely human authority, 
 selt-assumed and self-imposed. Hence arises, and must neces- 
 sarily arise, discord, corruption, conflict, just as if a new 
 planet were introduced into the solar system by some other 
 power than that of God. 
 
 Here is a relation, a brotherhood, whose tie cuts right across 
 all other relations, enters the family, interiiering between parents 
 and children, husband and wife, brothers and sisters ; enters 
 society, interferes with its various relations both civil and so- 
 cial i enters the church, coming between pastor and people, and 
 between members of the same church, often producing aliena- 
 tion and distrust if not positive discord and conflict. It is in 
 vain to say that membership in these societies need not conflict 
 with a man's duty in his other relations. In the very nature of 
 things they must conflict, and as a matter of fact, we all know 
 and le that they do conflict la multitudes of instances ; and 
 
6 
 
 when tbe obligation of these socletiea la reg&rded at oil it be- 
 comes necessarily paramount to all others. Instances might be 
 given illustrating this in the family (as at funerals), in the 
 state (as inthe case of judge and Juries), and in the church (as 
 between pastors and people.) 
 
 To this principle our Lord refers when he charges the Phari- 
 sees with making void the law of God by their traditions. They 
 had invented an artificial relation with its appropriate sign, or 
 pass-word, by which they undertook to set aside the obligation 
 nf children to their parents. The law of God said, Honor thy 
 father and mother, and whosoever hateth father and mothi r 
 let him die the death; but ye say, "If a man shall say to his 
 father or mother, Corban, that is to say, it is a gift by whatso- 
 ever thou mi ghtest be profited by me, he shall be free making ;tbe 
 word of God of noi»e affect by your traditions:" Mark, 7 dO-lS; 
 Precisely on the same principle do these associations come be- 
 tween those whom God hath joined together in the Various re- 
 lations of life, making dis tinctions where God has made none 
 either in nature or grace ; thus producing disturbance, unset- 
 tling confidence, and introducing suspicion, alienation, strife. 
 Now, while it is improper for any one to enter a society which 
 does or may conflict with the duties he owes to his fellow 
 men in the other relations of life, it is especially wrong and 
 inconsistent for a Christian to do so. The very principle on 
 which these societies are organized is that of caste and their 
 obligation requires them' to help each other in preference to 
 all outside, no matter how closely connected these outside ones 
 may be otherwise. I do not say that this obligation is al- 
 ways regarded as paramount, but I do know that this principle 
 of favoritism belongs to all these associations, is avowed by 
 them, and urged, indeed, as one of the most powerful induce- 
 ments for members to join them, viz. ; the superior advantages 
 to be enjoyed in various ways from the patronage, support and 
 assistance of their fellow members to which they are all mutu- 
 ally pledged. I do know, also, that many regard their obliga- 
 tion in this light, and treat it as paramount to all others. A 
 Presbyterian elder, when asked the question, if two men 
 claimed his assistance equally needy, the one a Christian or 
 fellow member of the church, and the other a fellow Mason, 
 which he would feel bound to prefer, answered without hesi- 
 tation, " The Mason." Another stated, that if the claims of his 
 mother and those of a brother Mason came in conflict he should 
 feel bound to regard the latter before the former; and, indeed, 
 this, as we have said, seems to be the natural and obvious 
 
meaninc; of this pledge of brotherhood and mutual help, if it 
 have any obligation at all. The only way in which the Chris- 
 tian can maintain the integrity of his conscieDce between these 
 conflicting claims is by treating this artificial obligation as a 
 nullity. Now every one can see how a conscientious judge or 
 juryman sworn to administer impartial justice between the 
 parties brought before them would feel himself, to say the least, 
 embarrassed by his relation to one of them as a member of the 
 same fraternity. Has any one, much less a Christian, a right 
 voluntarily to place himself in a relation the obligation oi 
 which he must either disregard and treat as a nullity, or else 
 violate his obligation to his fellow mea in the other relations in 
 which God has placed him. Partiality, favoritism, the -making 
 of discriminations among men on the ground of fictitious or 
 artificial distinctions which is the very essence of these associ- 
 ations, is just as unwarranted and inconsistent with the spirit 
 of Christianity as the same partiality would be uajast and un- 
 warrantableinajudgeon ttie bench. Jas. 3:1, 3: ''My brethren, 
 have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Ciirist, the Lord of glory- 
 with lespect of persons For if there come into your asitmiiy 
 a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and tUere come in 
 also a poor man in vile raiment; and ye have respect to him 
 thai weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, 8ic thoa here 
 in a good place, and say to the poor, Stand thou there or 
 sit here under my footstool, are ye not, then, partial in your, 
 selves, and are become judges of evil thoughts, or as it ought 
 to be rendered, ill-rea&oniug judges?" Therefore we say these 
 associations, the very principle of whose organization requires 
 their members to exercise this partiality towards their fellow 
 members are inconsistent with the genius and spirit of Chris- 
 tianity. 
 
 2nd. The second reason why these associations are incon- 
 sistent with the genius of Ohristiaaity is because the obedience 
 which they require of their members to their superiors is inconsis- 
 tent with that supreme allegiance which emry Christian has vowed 
 and ewes to Christ. 
 
 The spirit of these orders whether, relieious or secular, is that 
 of an unmitigated despotism, requiring an obedie ace which is 
 implicit and unquestioning. This is seen most fully iu the so- 
 ciety of Jesuits, the prime qualification of whose members is 
 an entire subjection of their will to that of their superiors; and 
 although all these secret orders do not go to the same length as 
 do these Jesuits, or even the Masons, yet their spirit and ten- 
 
8 
 
 dency is the same, and so far as they are allowed to exert their 
 legitimate influence, the effect is to destroy all independence of 
 thought, speech, or action on the part of their members and 
 render them passive tools in the hands of their superiors or the 
 orders they represent. This is symbolized in some of their cerf-- 
 monies, inculcated in their lectures, and expressed in the sub- 
 ordination otthe various degrees and in the high-sounding titles 
 given to their officers — Masters — Grand Masters — Most Puissant 
 Potentate, &c. Indeed, obedience to the Master is one of the 
 cardinal virtues in their orders. And of their power to enact 
 this obedience, when they deem it necessary, let the abduction 
 and murder of Morgan bear witness; and also that intoleraol. 
 spirit everywhere manifested by these orders which aims to fet- 
 ter the freedom of speech and of the press, and which prevails 
 to muzzle editors, publishers, and public speakers, and even 
 the ministers of Jesus Christ, most of whom dare not utter their 
 own convictions, and can hardly call their souls their own. Now 
 while any one who has any regard to his own manhood ought 
 to scorn to place himself in subjection to any will or authority 
 less than Divine, it is specially unworthy of the Christian, who 
 as the Lord's servant, is free from both the doctrine and com- 
 mandments of men. " Ye are bought with a price, be ye not 
 the servants of men." " Call no man master, neither be ye 
 called master, for one is your Master even Christ." To Him ev- 
 ery Christian owes and cheerfully acknowledges implicit sub- 
 jection — entire and unreserved obedience. He only is worthy 
 of it and entitled to it, because He is 6'od ; nor dare any Chris- 
 tian, on peril of treason' to his Lord, acknowledge or promise sub- 
 jection to any man or set of men only in the Lord. It is only so 
 far as they represent the authority of Christ that we owe obedi- 
 ence to our superiors in the family, the state, or the church. 
 Children are to obey their parents in the Lord for this is right. 
 Wives are to be in subjection unto their husbands, as unto Christ. 
 Citizens are to obey civil magistrates because they are ministersi 
 of God. The powers that be ordained are of God, and we owe this 
 obedience not only for wrath, but also for conscience' sake, be- 
 cause they represent the authority of God in all their lawful 
 commands; and even in the church. Christians are under obli- 
 gations to those who have the nrie over them only in the Lord, 
 that is, so far as they represent the authority of Christ; any- 
 thing else than this is rane popery, culminating in the Jesu- 
 itical dogma of papal infallibility. Now it may be safely 
 affirmed that the subjection which membership in these orders 
 involves is worse, more inconsistent with Christian liberty,than 
 
9 
 
 popeiy itself, because the priest and the pope have some shad- 
 ow of pretension for their claims to implicit subjection because 
 they pretend to be the vicars of Christ and to represent his au- 
 thority. But where in all these orders is there even a pretense of 
 representing His authority ? Where in all the word of God has 
 he given them authority to command my obedience, and how 
 can I consistently with my supreme allegience to him, volun- 
 tarily place myself in subjection to any such usurped authority 
 or promise any kind of obedience to it, when it is not and can 
 not be obedience sni<A« Lord? Surely Christians and Christ- 
 ian ministers especially, who ought to be so jealous even of 
 their lawful superiors where their authority infringes upon or 
 conflicts with that of Christ, must see that in joining these or- 
 ders they are renouncing their allegiance to him, and promis- 
 ing subjection to those who neither pretend to represent the 
 authority of Christ nor can ever claim obedience to any of their 
 behests on the ground of that authority. " And no man can 
 serve two masters, lor either he will hate the one and love the 
 other, or else he will hold to the one and despise the other." 
 If there were no other reason than this one, it is sufficient of 
 itself, one would think, to convince any conscientious Christ- 
 ian that these associations are inconsistent with the genius and 
 spirit of Christianity. 
 
 3d. BeeoMse the morality and benevolerioe which they ineulcaieand 
 practice are selfish and partial, and so inepnsistent with the genius 
 and spirit of Oh/rist, and ought not to he encouraged or patronized 
 by Christians. The whole system from beginning to end is just 
 a system of organized selfishness. Instead of being governed 
 by that royal law of Christ : " As ye would that man should do 
 unto you, do ye even so unto them," the Christian in these 
 societies finds himself restricted and narrowed down to this 
 miserable law of selfishness: Do to others as you expect them 
 to do to you ; which is the rule and limit both of their moral- 
 ity and benevolence, so called. 
 
 (1.) Their m&rality is «e^!s& and poniMEJ, although the professions 
 which some of these societies make of being the special patrons 
 and teachers of morality, iiay at first sight appear plausible, 
 yftS when we come to enquire into the principle which under- 
 Jes their so-called morality, it will be found nothing more than 
 » species of a personal honor — a somewhat extended kind of 
 (islfishness. It is true, they inculcate friendship, love, and 
 ^nit\ and oblige their members to abstain from ii^ustice, 
 iWiong or injury. But to what extent f Toward all men ? O, 
 [90S oitl^ coward their fellow members,— and why even toward 
 
10 
 
 them ? Because the one is right and the other wrong that? ia, 
 required or forbidden by the law of God, the only standard of 
 true morality f O, no ! For thlH would require them to make 
 the obligation universal and extend it to all.men, which would 
 destroy their very character as exclusive mutual aid societies. 
 Takefor illustration the Masonic fraternity. The obligation 
 of this order requires its members to act honestly and up- 
 rightly towards their fellow members, and to abstain from in- 
 jury towards them or their wives or sisters. This implies a li- 
 cense to act otherwise tr-wards all others; that is to say, if they 
 are restrained from acting unjustly towards others, it is from 
 some other principle than their Masonic obligation; such in- 
 justice and immorality does not affect their standiug in the or- 
 der, nor is it considered or treated as a breach of Masonic obli- 
 gation. 'The most dishonest and immoral men can and do 
 maintain their standing in the order, provided their offences 
 are not against Masonic law. What is this but a species of 
 worldly honor, and no more deserves the name of morality than 
 that honesty which may be found among thieves and banditti. 
 That I do not overstate this matter let me refer to an instance 
 that I have seen quoted by their own writers as an illustration 
 of the superior excellence and advantage of the Masonic obli- 
 gation ; and many similar instances might be given from our 
 own rebellion and the Sepoy rebellion in India. A pirate cap- 
 tured a vessel and murdered all its inm tes except two, who 
 were Masons as he was. Here was one who considered his 
 obligations of Masonic morality limited to his own order, and 
 whose multiplied crimes of fiendish cruelty did not affect his 
 standing as a Mason, so long as he refrained from injuring his 
 fellow Masons. Is it not worse than a misnomer to call such 
 conduct by the name of morality, or to compare it for a mo- 
 ment with that universal honesty and integrity of character and 
 conduct which the gospel of Christ not only teaches, but pro- 
 duces f "Teaching us to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts and 
 live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present evil world," 
 the disregard of which in regard to the poorest and humblest 
 human being, would not only, if known, affect the Christiap 
 standing of the most eminent minister or member of the church, 
 but would destroy the reputation and standing of any church 
 which should tolerate such an one in its membership for an 
 hour. And yet, I repeat, this is the extent of the morality which 
 the Masonic order, as such, (and the same is true, to a certain 
 extent, of the others,) inculcates and entorces — simply and sole- 
 ly thu morality of selfishness. How degrading to , and unwor- 
 
n 
 
 ihy of, the Christian to lend the sanction of his name and influ- 
 ence to any such caricature and fraud, by which thousands are 
 deluded into the thought and belief^ that with such false and 
 bpuTious morality as their religion they can be as good Chris- 
 tians as church members, and fitted at death for entrance 
 into heaven, or the Grand Lodge above. Surely Christians 
 instead of having any fellowship with, ought to expose and 
 testify against all such miserable pretences as dishonoring to 
 Christ and luinous to the souls of men. The same substantial- 
 ly may be said of their — 
 
 (2 ) Sejimolenee; which like their morality is both partial and 
 telfish. Many of these associations claim to be benevolent and 
 charitable, even above the church ; and there are some Obris- 
 tiaas who are base enough and silly enough to echo their 
 claims, not only inside, but outside of these orders, No\v, 
 whatever may be said of the short-comings, in this respect, of 
 individual memburs, or even of the church, yet we dare affirm 
 that the only true charity aad benevolence that is found in 
 the world, and even in these orders themselves, is due to the 
 presence and influence of the Christian religion, and that what 
 goes under the name of benevolence as inculcated and received 
 by these associations, is not worthy to be compared to that 
 large-hearted and univei'sal philanthropy, and active benevo- 
 lence which Clirlstianity not only teaches but produces in all 
 whoembrace its doctrines. 
 
 (a.) Their benevolence is limited to their own members. It 
 Bot only begins but it ends at home. The difference between 
 it and true Christian benevolence may be seen in the parable of 
 the good Samaritan. While the priest and the Levite who 
 found the man that had fallen among thieves, passed by 
 on the other side, because he did not belong to their order, 
 the good Samaritan stopped to ask no questions, but recog- 
 nizing a brother's claim on his sympathy in the distress of a 
 stranger or even an enemy, he " bound up his wounds, pouring 
 in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, carried him to 
 an inn and took care of him." And the injunction with 
 which our Lord closes the parable, " Go thou and do like- 
 wise," stands on record as a withering rebuke to that narrow- 
 minded selfishness which stops to ask, "Who is my neighbor," 
 and makes the world-wide difference between true Christian 
 beneficence and that charity falsely so-caUed. which is confined 
 to a particular order or caste. * 
 
 Even this limitation, however, would not be so blameworthy 
 if the doors of these orders were, like those of the church. 
 
la 
 
 opened wide for the admission of all classes. But it is not sO. 
 Most of them exclude women, minora, the aged, the poor, lame, 
 halt and blind, those who are not able to pay their dues, or 
 have no visible means of support, the very classes that are like- 
 ly to become objects of charity; and when those who are 
 members cease to pay their dues, even though unable to do so, 
 they forfeit their claim on the assistance of the order at the 
 very time when they most need it. Thus their boasted benevo- 
 lence limited as it is to their own members dwindles down into 
 a simple re-payment' of what has already been paid for, like 
 any other insurance policy, and that at a very dear rate of pre- 
 miuui. An examination of their own reports will show, that 
 while the larger proportion of the vast incomes of some ot these 
 orders is expended in mere pomp and show, it is a comparativi-- 
 ly trifling amount that goes to the reliet of the needy and suf- 
 fering. The amount expended by one of the smaller branches 
 of the church in this land for really benevolent objects far ex- 
 ceeds that of the (strongest and wealthiest of these orders. So 
 that the assertion that the benevolence of these orders excels 
 that of the church is a false and a base slander. 
 
 (b.) Let it be remembered also that whatever is done by the 
 members of these societies, even Christian members, redounds 
 otthe credit of the order and not to Christ. While the charch of 
 Qod teaches as the law of her Head, the duty of doing good to 
 all men as we have opportunity, and actually exercises through 
 her membership all the benevolence worthy of the name that 
 aims to bless and elevate suffering humanity ; yet all the honor of 
 itis cheerfully ascribed to Christ, ana not to any man or organi- 
 zation. Our Lord said to his disciples, " When thou doest alms, 
 do not sound a trumpet before thee as the hypocrites do, in the 
 synagogues and in the streets that they may be seen of men : 
 Verily, I say unto you, they have their reward." This is just 
 what these societies do, and doubtless this is one reason why we 
 hear so much more of their benevolence just because the end 
 and object of it is self-glorification. How can a Christian con- 
 sistently lend his countenance and name to that which detracts 
 from the glory of his Master, and seeks the praise of men an 
 not of Grod. 
 
 (c.) Moreover, in the day of final reckoning only those good 
 deeds that are done in the Tiamt of Ghrigt and for Ms sake will 
 be regarded as^ worthy of mention. And measured by this 
 standard, love to Christ and to our fellow men for his sake, all 
 the boasted charity of these orders will be cast out as spurious 
 and worthless, being nothing more than a species of selfish- 
 
18 
 
 oeBS : " Inasmuch as yo did it not to one of the least of these 
 my brethren, ye did it not to me." Thus the -whole influence of 
 these associations, as combinations for selfish purposes, in 
 their selfish morality and selfish benevolence, serves to foster 
 and strengthen this principle of evil in the individual and in 
 society, and so instead of assisting the church it opposes an ever 
 increasing barrier to the influence of Christianity through the 
 church and upon the world at large. For this reason then 
 Christians should have no fellowship with them. 
 
 4th. Fellowship with these societies is inconsistent with that sep- 
 aration from the world which is essential to the Ohristia/i (Procter. 
 This is of itself sufficient and conclusive reason why Christians 
 should not have connection with them. That these societies be- 
 long to the world will hardly be disputed. They cannot claim, 
 they will hardly pretend to be of Divine institution; their ori- 
 gin is in the world; the principles of their organization are of 
 (he world; their morality and benevolence are worldly; their 
 aims and ends are worldly and selfish, and their membership is 
 largely, and we may safely say predominantly, from the world, 
 composed of all sorts, men of all religions and of no religion at 
 all ; Jews, Mohammedans, pagans, infidels, ungodly and wicked 
 men in equally good standing with Christians or ministers of 
 the Gospel. Now there is nothing more plainly revealed in the 
 word of God than this, that the world which lieth in the wicked 
 one is the great enemy of Christ, and that whosoever is the friend 
 of the world is the enemy of God. There is no duty more frequent- 
 ly insisted on in the Bible than that of Christians maintaining a 
 complete and universal separation from the world. In the lan- 
 guage of Mr. Moody, "With the Bible open before me lean not 
 see what right any child of God has to go and yoke himself 
 with unbelievers in business or in secret societies, or in any 
 other society. If you say it is to do good, you cau do more 
 good without them than you can possibly, do by identifying 
 yourself with them; Abraham had more influence over Sodom 
 away up in Hebron than Lot had there in Sodom." This is 
 strong language, but is it not true ? The people of Israel were 
 expressly forbidden to make covenants of peace and friendship^ 
 or enter into any alliance whether by marriage with the sur- 
 rounding nations, and nothing was a more fruitful source of 
 corruption and consequent calamity to that nation than the 
 neglect or disregard of this prohibition. The same principle 
 applies to the church of God to-day. The command, "Be not une- 
 qually yoked together with unbelievers" has reference not mere- 
 ly, nor even principally to the marriage relation. But from the 
 
14 
 
 reasons assigned it is evident that the injunction applies wiMi 
 special force to just euch associations as these fraternities which 
 bring together in the closest bonds of fellowship, friendship and 
 even brotherhood, Christian and infidel, believer and unbelie- 
 ver, the friends and enemies of Ohrist: "For what tellowship 
 hath righteousness with unrighteousness, and what communion 
 hath light with darkness? and what concord hath Christ vritli 
 Betialf or what part hath be that believeth with an infidel? 
 and what agreement hath the temple of God with idols; for ye 
 are the temple of the living God." Language could not more 
 strongly impress the relation and duty of the church and its 
 members towards these secret societies. While we are not pro- 
 hibited from all intercourse with men of the world in the affairs 
 of business, or in those relations of civil society, in which 
 God has placed us, yet neither with individuals nor associa- 
 tions are we at liberty to form covenants of friendship or broth- 
 erhood. The attitude of the church to the world is that of con^ 
 stant, uncompromising hostility, and the obligation on the 
 church and its members to-day is just as strict and imperative as 
 ever to maintain a complete and entirvj separation from it, both 
 in order to preserve their freedom from its corrupting influen- 
 ces and to maintain a testimonv against its evils. The voice 
 of Christ which is the voice of duty and the voice of wisdom, 
 cries aloud to every Christian, " Come out from among them 
 and be ye separate, a :d touch not the unclean thing." " Have 
 no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness but rather 
 reprove them;" and only by obeying this voice by the way of 
 requiring her members to aoslaiu from b.A connection with 
 these societies, can the church of Christ " keep herself unspot- 
 ted from the world," avoid compromise with its evils, and be 
 free from its corruping influences and its final condemnation. 
 Thus I have presented considerations which apply to all 
 these associations, from the very principles of their organiza- 
 tion, the force of which every Christian heart will feel and ap- 
 preciate, and which to every candid mind must appear con- 
 clusive : " That these associations, whether tormed for political 
 or benevolent purposes, are in their very nature inconsistent 
 with Ihii genius and spirit of Christianity, aad church mem- 
 bero ought not to have fellowship with them." I have dwelt 
 thus long on this part of the subject because it occupies ground 
 which I humbly conceive has not hitherto received the con- 
 sideration which its importance demands, and because the 
 considerations presented can be understood and appreciated as 
 well by those outside as by those inside of these orders. 
 
16 
 11. Thkib Secrecy. 
 
 6th. Another reason why these associations are inconsistent 
 with the genius of Christianity is beeaute the secrecy which thty 
 afect, and to which they bind their members by promise or oath, is 
 tameeeaaary and so unwarrantable, dangerous, and ensnaring to the 
 conscience, and therefore utterly opposed to that openness and pub- 
 licity which Christ enjoins on his disciples both by example and 
 precept. "lever spoke openly in the synagogues and in secret 
 have I said nothing." " Ye are the light of the world." "Let 
 your light so shine before men," etc. 
 
 1. This secrecy is unnecessary for any good and lawful pur- 
 pose. Let us carefully observe what secrecy is condemned and 
 when. It is not denied that individuals, families and even soci- 
 eties may have secrets which tiiey are not bound to disclose, but 
 these are private or personal affairs with which the public has 
 no concern. These, however, are not private but public asso- 
 ciations, claiming public patronage and approval, extending 
 their influence through all the ramifications of the commu- 
 nity in which they exist, whether it be a college or society at 
 large; and yet secrecy instead of being the exception is the 
 rule; it is not an incidental but an essential element of tht;ir 
 organization. 
 
 Nor do we deny that even public bodies, legislative or judi- 
 cial, whether in church or state, may have private or secret 
 meetings, the proceedings of which it is necessary and therefore 
 lawful and right for good and sufficient reasons to keep secret. 
 But this is a very different thing, from being organized on the 
 principle of secrecy, and no more justifies the charge of being se- 
 cret societies than does the fact, that many of the meetings and 
 proceedings of these associations are public, free'them from that 
 charge. We affirm that the secrecy which so universally char- 
 acterizes these orders is not necessary for any good or lawful 
 purpose where they have the protection of law. 
 
 We admit that when the prosecution of that which is good and 
 right exposes to oppression and persecution and there is no pro- 
 tection from the law, then it may be necessary and proper to re- 
 sort to secrecy for self.protection, as did the primitive Chris- 
 tians, the Covenanters of Scotland, and loyal leagues at the 
 Soutti during the rebellion. But when, as is the case at least in 
 this country now, and as was true in the North during the war, 
 every one can claim and enjoy the protection of law in the 
 prosecution and accomplishment of every good and worthy ob- 
 ject, there is absolutely z^o necessity for secrecy and it is there- 
 
16 
 
 fore wrong. Truth and right under a free government never 
 fear or need fear or shun the light; only that which is con- 
 scious of wrong doing seeks to hide itself in darkness. 
 These individuals and societies which have objects In view that 
 are condemned by law or public sentiment, such as the Ku- 
 Klux Klan, the Jesuits, and .others, are indeed under the ne- 
 cessity of resorting to secrecy. " He that doeth evil hateth 
 the light, neither cometh to the light lest his deeds should be 
 reproved ; but he that doeth truth cometh to the light that his 
 deeds may be manifest that they are wrought in God." So that 
 the very resort to secrecy is in itself suspicious, and presump- 
 ' live evidence of something wrong which will not bear the light. 
 What would be thought of a church or congregation of Christ- 
 ians organized on this principle f Would it not deservedly meet 
 withuniversal suspicion and, reprabation ? Even when necessary, 
 such secrecy is undesirable and fraught with many evils. We 
 know how.the secret meetings of the early Christians exposed 
 them to undeserved, yet unavoidable obloquy and reproach, as 
 being guilty of the most scandalous aud horrible practices; and 
 when the necessity no longer existed how promptly and joy 
 fully they abandoned their secrecy and held their meetings in 
 open day! An imperative necessity alone will justify such se- 
 crecy and only duringthe time such necessity exists. So thai 
 the plea that it is necessary to guard against imposition will 
 not avail, seeing such necessity Is not imperative, that is, there 
 are other means of guarding against imposition which individ- 
 uals and societies havb employed and do employ with reasona- 
 ble success without rftsorting lo secrecy. Being therefore un- 
 necessary for any good or lawful purpose : 
 
 3. It ia unwarrantable tor any one a,Rd. espbciMy tor Christ- 
 ians. Christ has said: "Ye are the light of the world. Noman 
 lighteth a candle and putteth it under a busbel or under a bed 
 but on a candlestick and it giveth light to all that are in the 
 house." 
 
 Now there are but fwo alternatives conceivable, either those 
 things that are Kept secret are good and valuable, important to 
 be kni>wn, or they are wrong and sinful, or at best trifling and 
 unimportant. In either case secrecy is unwarrantable. If they 
 are wrong, if it be •' a shame even to speak of those things that 
 are done of them in Hecret," as was the case with the secret so- 
 cieties in the Apostles' day, and as no doubt is the case 
 with some of them in our own day, such as their indecent and 
 disgusting ceremonies of initiation and also many " hidden 
 things of darkness," which the great day alone will reveal, then 
 
17 
 
 there can be no question as to the ChristiaQ's duty not only to 
 have no " fellowahip with the unfruitful works of darkneas," 
 but rai^her reprove thum by exposing themtothe light as ma- 
 ny good men have done and are doing, and that too, even 
 thoueh they had promised or sworn to keep them secret. In 
 reference to these the Christian should say: "Oh, my soulcome 
 not thou unto their secret ; unto their assembly mine honor be 
 not thou united." Even when the secrets are harmless and tri- 
 fling, while at the same time they pretend to introduce the ini- 
 tiated to the knowledge of great and profound mysteries and 
 valuable and important truths, the obligation of secrecy is un- 
 warrantable tor a Christian because it makes him a party to a 
 stupendous fraud, and being deceived himself becomes the oc- 
 casion and means of deceiving and misleading others. 
 
 But even on the most charitable supposition, viz. : that these 
 secrets are what some pretend, important and valuable, wortL 
 all the money paid for them, still the Christian may not prom- 
 ise to keep secrets which may be of benefit and advantage 
 to his fellow men, in the face of the express command of the 
 Master : " What I tell you in darkness that speak ye in 
 light, and what ye hear in the ear that preach ;ye on the house- 
 tops." '' Let your light so shine before men," &c. No man or 
 set of men, much less a Christian, has a right to monopolize for 
 their own benefit anything the knowledge of which would be of 
 advantage to their fellow men. Even in reference to inventions 
 in the useful arts, while the inventor has a right to a reasona- 
 ble compensation for the fruit of his inventive genius, yet he 
 has no right to confine the benefits to himself, nor after such 
 reasonable compensation to deprive the public of the advantage 
 of its knowledge by locking it up in a secret circle or combina 
 tion. What would be thought of a teacher of science who 
 should pledge all his scholars to secrecy as to the discoveries he 
 had made and communicated to them ? Indeed this is the great 
 difference the heathen and Christian civilization, as Wendell 
 Phillips has well remarked in his lecture on the " Lost Arts." 
 While among ancient heathen nations all knowledge or learn- 
 ing in religion, science and the arts, was confined by strict se- 
 crecy to select circles, or classes, and so became lost to the 
 world, when their families or classes became extinct, it is the 
 glory of our Christian civilization that what is known to any 
 individual becomes common property to all, and cannot be 
 lost to the world; and what has produced this diflferencef 
 Simply the teaching of the Author of Cliristianity, obliging his, 
 diaciplea to be light-bearers to the world, shining as lights. 
 
18 
 
 the world, dispensing to all whatever good or blessing they have 
 received. "Freely ye have received, freely give." 
 
 On any supposition, therefore, secrecy in a society which 
 claims and deserves the patronage and encouragement of 
 Christians is unwarrantable, and *o inconsistent with the gen. 
 ius and spirit of Christianity. But further — 
 
 (8) Such secrecy is dcmgerovs. While it is unnecessary and 
 unwarrantable for any good purpose and those whose designs 
 are open and fair will not resort to it, yet we know that those 
 whose designs are sinister and selfish, and who are unscrupu- 
 lous in the use of means for carrying them out; do find it nec- 
 essary to cover them up with the veil of secrecy. And this 
 gives them a great advantage not only over thiE» public at large, 
 but algo over the honest and unsuspecting members of the soci- 
 ety or association to which they belong. On this account it is 
 that political parties can be preserved from becoming corrupt 
 and mighty engines for evil in the hands of scheming dema- 
 gogues only by subjecting them and their actions to the fullest 
 and most open scrutiny by the public press. On this account 
 it was that the society called Jesuits became so dangerous 
 wherever it was allowed to exist and has been repeatedly sup- 
 pressed in several countries of Europe, because it became dan- 
 gerous to the interest of society and the state. Even the church 
 of God if it should adopt the principle of secrecy would un- 
 doubtedly in a few years become corrupt and subject to the 
 control of unscrupulous and designing men who could wield 
 the influence of the whole body for the accomplishment of per- 
 sonal, selfish ends. As long as human nature remains as it is, 
 any society, it matters not how good and laudable its object, 
 nor how upright and sincere the intentions ot its founders, if 
 organized on the principle of secrecy, will necessarily fall inte 
 the hands and under the control of evil-minded, selfish men, who 
 contrive, sooner or later, to obtain the monopoly of the highest 
 offices and places of honor and power and so are able to make 
 use of the resources of the whole order for the accomplishment 
 of their own selfish aims. This might be illustrated by the 
 history of secret orders from the Jesuits down to the latest, and 
 in some respects, most dangerous, the grange. The only secu- 
 rity of liberty in the state, of truth and righteousness in the 
 church, the only protection in any society which the many have 
 against the tyranny, the dishonesty and oppression of the few, 
 is by holding those entrusted with official power and influence 
 to the strictest responsibility, requiring them to give frequent 
 reports of themselves and their conduct, to the many. Buttbis 
 
19 
 
 oannut be dune io these secret orders, where the inevitable ten- 
 dency ia to contract tbo widest circle Into an ever-narrow- 
 ing serpentine coil till it reaches the innermost, central ring 
 or clique, called the highest degree, which dominates all oth- 
 ers and is itself accountable to none. The only wonder is that 
 the press of our day, which is so jealous or sensitive to the dan- 
 gers arising from secret rings or combinations in church or 
 state, is so IndifEerent to the threatening aspect of this growing 
 and deepening cloud of secretism, which at first no larger than 
 a'man's hand, now darkens the whole political and moral heav- 
 ens with its shadow. To us it seems like the fascination of 
 some spell, which, like that of slavery, holds both church and 
 state eachained, until the cloud bursts, as that did in this coun- 
 try, in storm and tempest on our heads. How ia it possible that 
 the ministers and members of the church of Ohrist, who are 
 set as watchmen to give the alarm can without great guilt spare 
 to cry aloud and liftup^iheir voice of testimony like a trumpet 
 against this great and growing evil, to show men their danger, 
 much more lend the influence of their words and example by 
 membeiship in their orders, to encourage and increase the 
 evil* 
 
 (4) The obligation of secrecy, whether by promise or oath, 
 is ensnaring to the conscience, and so contrary to the express 
 command of God : "Thou shalt swear," — and the same prin- 
 ciple applies 10 a promise — " in truth, in judgment and in right- 
 eousness." We are not now referring to the profane charac- 
 ter of the oaths which some of these societies impose upon 
 their members, and which will be considered in its place. The 
 evil of the obligation of secrecy is the same whatever be 
 the particular form of the obligation, whether by promise or 
 oath. The Ch';iBtian ought to be as circumspect in taking any 
 obligation which binds his conscience as in taking an alh. 
 Moreover, the obligation of an oath, if it is an unlawful one (as 
 all thene extra-judical oaths are), is not a whit more binding or 
 sacred than that of an unlawful promise. The addition of the 
 oath is only an aggravation of the sin, involving as it does the 
 guilt of profanity, without changing the principle or character 
 of the obligation. This cannot be too frequently or plainly as- 
 serted, because the impression is general, that there is some 
 kind of sacredness in the form of the oath administered, which 
 becomes the more binding, the more solemn and awful the 
 appeals and imprecations with which it is offered. So that 
 those who disregard their obligations even when convinced of 
 their unlawfulness are considered guilty of perjury. This is e. 
 
great mistake, as may clearly be seen in tlie case of Herod, who 
 rashly promised with an oath that he would give to the daugh- 
 ter of Herodias whatever she might ask. Who will say that 
 Herod was bound by such an oath any more than if it had been 
 simply a rash promise? The sin was in taking, not in break- 
 ing it. To have disregarded it was his duty ; while to keep it 
 involved him in the additional crime of murder without in the 
 least diminishing the original guilt of his conduct, which was 
 the same whether he kept or broke his oath or promise. The 
 sin was in making it, and to keep it after he found that it involv- 
 ed him in doing wrong was only to add to the sin, not only by 
 mu-der,butalsoby showing that he had more regard to his own 
 word, or a false sense of honor, than he had to the authority of 
 God. This funishes a sufficient answer to the common sneer 
 against those who have seceded from these orders and revealed 
 their secrets, that they are dishonored and unworthy of belief, 
 because either they say what is false, or are guilty of perjuiy 
 In revealing what they have sworn to keep. It is not so. On 
 the contrary those who continue to regard the obligation of se 
 crecy as binding, after they are convinced that it was unlaw- 
 fully assumed in the first place, are the guilty parties in Ood's 
 sight, because, like Herod, they pay more respect to their own 
 word, or rather their false notion of honor, than they do to the 
 honor and authority of God's law. It is the keeping, not the 
 breaking of an unlawful oath, or promise, which is sinful in 
 God's sight. Why? Because the taking of it in the first place 
 was the sin, and every moment of continuing it after the sinful- 
 ness of it is seen is ju«t a constant repetition of that sin. 
 
 Thus the obligation of secrecy, or to obey a code of unknowD 
 laws, is ensnaring to the conscience whatever be the form of the 
 obligation, whether by promise or oath, because the Christian 
 is placing himself in a position where for aught he knows, he 
 may be under the necessity of committing sin, either by doing 
 that which he feels to be wrong in order to keep his word, or 
 by violating his word or oath in order to avoid doing it, 
 and no man has a right voluntarily to place himself in a posi- 
 tion where he must choose between two moral evils. If sUch an 
 obligation were attempted lo be imposed upon us even by law- 
 ful authority, whether civil or ecclesiastical, we should resist it 
 to the utm st of our power as an infringement on our rights of 
 conscience which God has left free from the doctrines and com- 
 mandments of men. How much more inexcusable is it for any 
 of Christ's people thus voluntarily to surrender the liberty they 
 have in the Gospel, and without any constraint put their neoki 
 tinder this most grievous of all yokes of bondage. 
 
31 
 
 But it may be said that every candidate before joining these 
 orders is assured that his obligatioa will not conflict with his 
 duty to his God, himself, or his fellow men, and that we have 
 the testimony of many good men that they have found this to 
 be true. It is sufficient to reply to this that we have testimony 
 of many men equally good, that they have found that the obli- 
 gation does conflict with their duties, as Christians, and ac- 
 cordingly have thrown it off; and so the one testimony will off 
 set, and more than offset the other— just as one positive will 
 more than outweigh a hundred negatives. But even were it 
 otherwise, were there no such conflicting testimony, yet the as- 
 surance of any man or number of men, unless they are Infalli- 
 ble, cannot justify another in surrendering his own right of 
 private judgment. "Every one must give account of him- 
 self to God," and no one who is capable of judging for himself 
 has a right to surrender his conscience any more than his un- 
 derstanding and his will to that of another, unless that other 
 be infallible. Indeed this is the very essence of popery, which 
 subjects the consciences of private members to the priests and 
 ot the whole church to the Pope. Bat as Protestants, we claim 
 that each individual has a right, and is b(mnd to judge for him- 
 self as to what is right and what is wrong according to the only 
 infallible standard — the word of God. The injunction,- ''Prove 
 all things," is addressed to every individual, and no one can 
 comply with it without having submitted what he is called to 
 receive and obey, to the test of God's word. In this matter we 
 cannot, we dare not, rest our faith on the judgment, or say so of 
 any man or set of men. They may assist us in arriving at a 
 correct judgment as to whether any given action or thing is in 
 accordance with the Divine will. But we repeat, no one who is 
 capable of judging for himself can, without entangling his coo- 
 Bcience or surrendering his liberty, accept and act upon the 
 simple assurance of another as to what is right or wrong in 
 any given case, unless he know beforehand and have an oppor- 
 tunity of judging for himself; so that any promise of secie 
 cy, or obedience to a code of unknown laws is utterly inconsisi. 
 tend with the genius and spirit of Christianity and no Chris- 
 tian who has any regard to the purity and liberty of his con- 
 science can lawfuly assume such obligation. 
 
 Thus we have shown that the secrecy that belongs to all these 
 associations is — 
 
 (1.) Ungecessary for any good purpose: (8.) UnwaTautable, 
 incompatible with the character and position of Christ's fol- 
 lowers as lights in the vrorld: (3.) Dangerous to the interests of 
 
society and the parity of the ohuroh ; and (4.) ijasnariDg to the 
 Qonsclence, and so incompatible with each one's personal re- 
 eponaibility to Ood. 
 
 III. ANTI-CHBIBTI4.N AND PROFANE. 
 
 What we have hitherto said applies to all associations or fra- 
 ternities which impose on their members a promise or oath of 
 secrecy or an obligation to obey a code of unknown laws. The 
 objecton we come now to notice, applies with particular force to 
 such societies as the Masonic fraternity which, however, is the 
 mother and model of all of them. While some of them u.ay 
 not be liable to all the objections which we present under this 
 head, yet inasmuch as they imitate many of its anti-Ohris- 
 tian rites and ceremonies, they are so far conformed to their 
 model, partake of its characteristics, and must share in its con- 
 demnation. Therefore, we say that these associations are in- 
 consistent with the genius an spirit of Christianity and church 
 members ought not to have fellowship with them. 
 
 6th. Beea/use the religion they profess to practice is anti-Chris 
 tian,and many of their rites and ceremonies are shockingly prof ane. 
 
 That these societies have a religion is susceptible of demon- 
 station, and is even admitted and exultingly claimed by their 
 own writers and advocates. They have their religious rituals 
 for different occasions, such as tunerals, dedications, &c , — call 
 their buildings temples, that is, places of worship ; they have 
 their hymns, prayers, altars, priests, some of them even sacra- 
 ments, and profess to prepare their members for the lodge 
 above, meaning heaven. Now what is this religion f It must 
 be either Christian or anti-Chrislian; it cannot be neutral or in- 
 different. That it is not Christian is evident, because the very 
 name of Christ and everything distinctively Christian is studi- 
 ously, ajid of set purpose excluded from its authorized services. 
 We say authorized services, because whatever may be the prac- 
 tice of particular individuals or lodges, different from what is 
 prescribed in their manuals, whether written or oral, can no 
 more be ascribed to the order, than the crime committed by in- 
 dividuals or lodges without the approval or sanction of the so- 
 ciety can justly be charged to that society. Now what is the 
 religion taught in their manuals, and prescribed by the author- 
 ity of these orders as such? We answer, simply bald deism. 
 TheGod.they worship, the Supreme Being whom they recognise 
 Is no more the Christian's God, the Triune Jehovah, than he is 
 the God of the Jews, Mohammedans, or pagans. He is an imag- 
 inary being in whose worship Jews, Mohammedans, infidels and 
 
pagans, those of the most opposite opinions and beliefs, all, ex, 
 oept Christians, can consistently unite. Indeed it is thbir pride 
 and boast that in their temples and at their altars there is the 
 utmost liberality, where all except Christians, can meet on a 
 common level. We say, " except Christians," because they 
 leave out their peculiarities as Christians, and so cease, for the 
 lime to be Christians While officiating or participating in these 
 Christless ceremonies where there is no mention of the name of 
 Carist, no recognition of sin, of atonement, or reconoiliaiion 
 l)y blood, nothing but a kind of heathen morality and worldly 
 benevolence which their members are taught to believe will 
 cummend them to God and procure them admission to 
 heaven or the lodge above. Thus in the language of the 
 piophet Ezekiel,43:8 verse: "In their setting of their threshold 
 by iny thresholds, and their post by my posts, and their wall 
 between me and them, they have even defiled my holy name by 
 their abominations." If, as is claimed iu some of their degrees, 
 there is anything introduced peculiar to Christianity, it is only, 
 by way ot imitation or caricature, producing a kind of mongrel 
 mixture of paganism, Judaism, and spurious Christianity, 
 w h ich like the religion of the colonists of Sumaria is even worse 
 than pure deism. This compromising of truth with error, of 
 Christ with Belial, of the temple of God with idols, is the worst 
 form of anti-Christ, and renders the religion of these societies 
 near akin to popery, if indeed it is not even worse. How any 
 minister, or member of the church of Jesus Christ can lend his 
 countenance or encouragement to such a religion, even by his 
 presence, much more by officiating, or taking part in such 
 ceremonies, miscalled religion, so dishonoring to his Master 
 and directly opposed to the very primary and fundamental 
 priaciples of our holy religion, is, and mtist forever remain a 
 most inmpUeable mystery ! 
 
 We have said thai many of their rites and ceremonies are 
 shockingly profane. 
 
 1. They profess the name of God by ascribing those titles 
 to their officers which belong peculiarly to God and Christ, 
 such as Most Excellent High Priest, Most Puissant Potentate 
 &c. 
 
 (3.) They profane the solemn ordinance of the oath, which is 
 only properly observed when administered first by lawful au- 
 thority, second on a lawful occasion, and thirdly for a lawful 
 purpose, not one of which essential conditions can be found in 
 the oaths which these societies presume to administer, as might 
 be easily shown if space permitted. 
 
(8.) They profane the Bible by perverting its meaning, and 
 using the Book for purposes for which it was never intended. 
 The employment of it at a symbol of Masonry, as an instrument 
 to swear by, and carry ing'it in processions along with the sword 
 of the civil magistrate can only be regarded as a superstitious, 
 unwarranted and so profane use of that holy book. Their ex- 
 tracts and quotation from it in their lectnres andelse where, are 
 often garbled, mutilated, and most grossly perverted and pro. 
 failed by leaving out the name of Jesus Christ wherever it oc- 
 curs, and applying what has sole reference to him and his 
 church, to their own orders. This can be easily verified by an 
 examination of any of their authorized manuals. 
 
 Finally: The most sacred symbols of the Divine presence 
 and divine worship are emploj ed in such a way as can only be 
 regarded as idolatrous and profitne. Thus we find among th« 
 furniture of some of their lodges the ark of the covenant, the 
 breastplate of judgment, Aaron's rod that budded, the brazen 
 serpent, the white stone, the altar of iuceuse, and many others, 
 which where it was lawful to use them, were to be handled with 
 the utmost reverence, and the Imitation of which was forbid- 
 den under the most dreadful penalties : and yet which are now 
 by these societies imitated, caricatured, and used for purposes 
 for which they were never intended, with a blasphemy and pro- 
 fanity that is absolutely appalling. These things are done in 
 their public processions, funerals, dedications and celebrations 
 of various kinds, in the light of day, and in the face of the sun. 
 Alas I that we should have to say it; with the silent consent 
 i.r the active co-operation and unblushing approval of those 
 bearing the name of Christians and even Christian ministerslll 
 And if these things are done in the green tree what may we 
 suppose is done in the dry — injtheir secret conclaves, in their 
 chambers of imagery where like those seen by the prophet Eze- 
 kiel, as recorded in the 8th chapter of his prophecy, they are 
 found worshiping toward the east with their backs to the temple 
 of God; i. e., worstiipingthe suo, and where, as we ard gravely 
 informed by some of their writers the. worship of Tammuz and 
 the Greek Adonis is revived under the name of Hiram Abiff! If 
 a heathen temple were erected ia our midst, alonj^side of our 
 churcnes, with its sacrifices and ceremonies of idolatrous 
 worship, it would excite such horror and indignation in a 
 Christian community as would loudly clamor for its removal or 
 destruction. But we have among us all over this Christian 
 land, close beside our churches, built at vast expeuse, temples 
 rivalling in splendor that of Solomon, where a worship is main- 
 
tained as truly and really idolatrous as that of ancient Greece 
 or Rome; and yet the churches of God are either indifferent 
 spectators or active abettors I " Tell it not in Gathl" Is it any 
 wonder that some of us feel, like Paul at Athens, our spirit 
 stirred within us, to cry out with voice and pen afrainst this 
 great, growing idolatry, and especially to say to Christians, 
 "Oome out from among them and be ye separate and touch not 
 the unclean thing." " Have no fellowship with the unfruitful 
 works of darkness, but rather reprove them." " For what fel- 
 lowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? or what 
 communion hath light with darkness ; and what concord hath 
 Christ with Belial ; or what part hath he that believeth with an 
 i ufidel ; or what agreement hath the temple of God with idols ?" 
 Considering therefore the principles of selfishness which char- 
 acterize all their organizations, their secrecy, and their anti- 
 Christian and profane character are we not warranted in saying 
 that they " are inconsistent with the eenius and spirit of Chrisli 
 anity and church members ought not to have fellowship with 
 them." 
 
SEC REC Y 
 
 IN ITS RELATIONS TO 
 
 — ADDKESS OF- 
 
 Rev. M. S. DRURT, 
 Io"wa Anti-Seereey Association 
 
 -AT- 
 
 WESTERN COLLEGE, IOWA. 
 
 April Z6ih, 1876. 
 
 CHICAGO, ILLINOIS: 
 
 EZRA A. COOK, PUBLISHER. 
 
SEGRECY 
 
 In its eelations to the Family, the State, aotj. 
 THE Chubch. 
 
 Address of Rev. M. 8. Drury, hefore the Iowa Anti- 
 Secrecy Association^ at Western College, 
 Iowa, April 26th., 1876. 
 
 Secret societies are enemies to the social compact, 
 the state and the church. Socially men are brothers 
 —"made of one blood to dwell on all the earth." The 
 ties of brotherhood are therefore universal and inalien- 
 able. Neither selfish nor circumscribed. 
 
 Sworn or solemnly pledged systematic secrecy of one 
 part of a community invades the rights of other parts,, 
 and disturbs the friendly relations between them, and 
 therefore becomes revolutionary. 
 
 True friendship is essential to prosperity. 
 
 All the members of a community are in some way 
 dependent upon each other by natural relations, But 
 these true relations are broken when one part meets in 
 seclusion and darkness from time to time, without the 
 consent of others, equally interested; no matter what 
 the avowed object, nor how smooth the apology may 
 be. Just suspicion rests upon the acts which are hid, 
 especially when criticism is shunned and investigation 
 forbidden. 
 
 1st. The family is most nearly and sacredly bound 
 together with ties of equal interest and tender affection. 
 Who is too dull to see that these ties are weakened 
 when the husband and father arbitrarily withdraws 
 from the loved home to attend the lodge, and returns 
 with sealed lips. Yes, it is arbitrary to go where wife 
 and children are forbidden by darkened windows, lock- 
 ed doors, and palsied tongue. There is not one well 
 informed and true wife in a thousand that will be satis- 
 
fied with the frequent absence and douhtfal associations 
 of her husband. If indeed she is his equal, and not his 
 slave, she has a perfect right to accompany him, and to 
 know for herself the character of his associates, and the 
 quality of his actions. The Freemason's mouth is nail- 
 ed shut from his own wife ; and the nail is tightly 
 clinched with the penalty of death! 
 
 Even the grange obligation enjoins perpetual secrecy 
 under a penalty of eternal expulsion and everlasting dis- 
 grace! No allowance for change of views, nor is there 
 ajiy provision for mercy. Will these things foster 
 friendship and promote domestic and social happiness? 
 It is not wonderful that men keep their families in ig- 
 norance of their lodge connections as long as possible, 
 and often at the expense of truth. May not many of 
 the divorce cases be traced to grievances occasioned by 
 the virtual breaking of marriage vows in lodge con- 
 nections? 
 
 But what of the example of lodge men who are often 
 absent when home burdens and sympathies are needed? 
 The children are approximating manhood and woman- 
 hood. As the father keeps late hours and doubtful com- 
 pany, why may not they? Is the safety and happiness 
 of the social compact fostered by open and wise exam- 
 ple, or by one of doubtfulness and proscription ? When 
 asked by a Freemason my objections to Masonry, amongst 
 other reasons was given this one : that the marriage 
 vows were morally broken by Masonic obligations. Af- 
 ter hearing the arguments in the presence of his fam- 
 ily, he retired ; when the wife said with interest and 
 deep emotion, " You have touched my husband in a 
 tender spot. Now do all that you can to save him." 
 
 2nd. Does secretism interfere with the duties we 
 owe to the State? Good citizens will be law-abiding. 
 They will also produce as much as they consume. The 
 best of citizens will produce more than they consume. 
 Will Freemasonry bear the test of these plain truths? 
 
The testimony of Daniel Webster is of undisputed 
 merit. In a letter dated Boston, November 20th, 1835, 
 he said, " I have no hesitation in saying that however 
 unobjectionable may have been the original objects of 
 the institution, or however pure may be the motives 
 and purposes of the individual members, and notwith- 
 standing the many great and good men who have be- 
 longed to the order, yet, notwithstanding, it is an insti- 
 tution which in my judgment is essentially wrong in 
 the principle of its formation; that from its very nature 
 it is liable to -great abuses ; that among the obligations 
 which are found to be imposed upon its members, there 
 are such as are entirely incompatible with the duty of 
 good citizens, and that all secret associations, the mem- 
 bers of which take upon themselves extraordinary obli- 
 gations to one another and are bound together by secret 
 oaths, are natural sources of jealousy and just alarm to 
 others; are especially unfavorable to harmony and mu- 
 tual confidence among men living together under pop- 
 ular institutions, and are dangerous to the general 
 cause of civil liberty and good government. Under the 
 influence of this conviction it is my opinion that the 
 future administration of all such oaths, and the forma- 
 tion of all such obligations, should be prohibited by 
 law." The good sense of every American concedes the 
 truth of these arguments of Mr. Webster. 
 
 It follows therefore that secret societies are enemies 
 to civil government, and should be abandoned. An in- 
 stitution is known by its laws, " The virtue indispen- 
 sably requisite to Masonry," (says the Craftsman, page 
 216) "is secrecy." 
 
 I will quote part of the oath of a Master Mason: " I 
 will keep a brother's secrets as my own, when commit- 
 ted to me in charge as such, murder and treason except- 
 ed. I furthermore promise and swear, (or affirm) that 
 I will not be at the making of a woman a Mason, a 
 young man under age, aJi old man in dotage, an atheist, 
 
madiaan, or fool, knowing them to be such. . Ttat I 
 will not wrong a brother, or deprive him of his good 
 name, or suffer it to be done by others, if in my power 
 to prevent it; but will apprize him of all approaching 
 danger^ so far as it shall come to my knowledge. That 
 I will not violate the chastity of a Master Mason's 
 wife, daughter, sister or mother, knowing them to be 
 such." 
 
 Now it is seen that this oath obligates the initiate, to 
 befriend his brother in all crimes less than murder and 
 treason, by keeping them securely in his own breast, 
 and apprizing him of all approaching danger. 
 
 The Craftsman further says, on page 216, " That so 
 great stress is laid upon it — secrecy — that it is enforced 
 under the strongest penalties and obligations." He 
 also swears " not to wrong a brother nor deprive him 
 of his good name." But it is no Masonic offense to de- 
 fraud and slander those who are not Masons. And is 
 there not a general license given by necessary inference 
 to all Master Masons to abuse all women excepting on- 
 ly relatives of Master Masons, and even them only 
 when knovra to be such? Does not this excel Mor- 
 monism, and drive civilization back to the dark ages? 
 The license here given is more corrupting than treason, 
 and the crime committed under this license often as 
 cruel as murder! Let no Freemason complain of licen- 
 tiousness; seeing his very oath by forcible implication, 
 inaugurates and protects libertinism! 
 
 But the Koyal Arch degree must be examined. Tn 
 this degree the candidate s Wears to assist a brother 
 Royal Arch Mason " When in any difficulty, and to ex- 
 tricate him from the same, whether he be right or 
 wrong," under the penalty of having the skull smote 
 off and the brains exposed to the scorching rays of the 
 sun. See J. Q. Adams' Letters on Freemasonry, pages 
 328 and 329. Can good citizens take these obligations, 
 add the weight of their influence to the fraternity con- 
 tinually, and remain good? 
 
■$Jie question mary be asked, " Are there not some 
 good traits about Masonry?" Yes, it may be answered; 
 at least there is a gloss about it that looks well from a 
 distance. A Masonic clergyman said to me lately: 
 " Take away the help given to Mason's widows and or- 
 phans, and you take away all that is valuable in Ma- 
 sonry." But is this not Christianity to care for the un- 
 fortunate? It is therefore stolen by the fraternity and 
 used for the purpose of advantage, and is therefore self- 
 ish. Benevolence is a Christian and not a Masonic 
 virtue. 
 
 View the institution in the light of an insurance 
 company and it has no claims to public favor. There 
 may, however, be a small return to the families of a few 
 of the many dollars previously paid into the lodge. 
 That it is a poor insurance company may be judged by 
 the following figures : "We will suppose that there are 
 one million of Apprentice Masons; eight hundred thou- 
 sand Masters; four hundred thousand Royal Arch Ma- 
 sons, and twenty thousand Kiiights; and that they all 
 paidtheregular fees for the degrees. The sum would 
 be twenty-two million five hundred thousand dollars. 
 The annual interest of this enormous ^um at seven per 
 cent, would be one million five hundred and seventy- 
 five thousand dollars. This would give fifteen thou- 
 sand seven hundred and fifty persons each one hundred 
 dollars annually." I do not know the number of Ma- 
 sons in these degrees in the United States. If the esti- 
 mate is too large we need not be confined to this coun- 
 tiy. Now I do not believe that one-tenth of this inter- 
 est ever returns to the widows and orphans of deceased 
 Masons, and to poor and afflicted members. In this 
 estimate no account has been made of the heavy and 
 continued cost of dues, for regalia, balls, feasts &c., &c. 
 Legitimate insurance companies pay altogether better, 
 without the demoralizing and dangerous nature of ex- 
 trajudicial oaths and penalties. And besides, many of 
 
the members so drain their purses, that they are unable 
 to do a good citizen's share in meeting the common de- 
 mands of suffering humanity. If upon the whole, the 
 institution were a good one, could her friends not point 
 t» her schools, colleges, universities, orphans' homes, 
 asylums, hospitals, temperance, literary and reform 
 societies; and to her libraries, her literary and scien- 
 tific works; her works of art and industrial enter- 
 prizes. Millions upon millions of money have been 
 paid into the coffers of the lodge; and where are tbe 
 good fruits? Where!! Does the lodge strike divi- 
 dends and pay back even one per cent, upon her large 
 capital stock? May not the vast sums in her vaults 
 and under the' control of her despotic Grand Masters,, 
 be now held and employed as a most dangerous political 
 corruption fund? Great danger to the State and to in- 
 dividuals may be found in . the power of the lodge, to 
 enforce her persecutiag and bloody penalties. ^ 
 
 One of the highest Masonic authors. Dr. Mackey, in 
 his Lexicon page 183, says :" The government of a Grand 
 Lodge is completely despotic. While,a Grand Lodge xe- 
 ists its edicts must be respected and obeyed without ex- 
 amination by its. subordinate lodges." " To illustrate" 
 — says the Rev. James Williams, a seceded Master Ma- 
 son, at Elk Point, Dakota, in a sermon preached in the 
 M. E. church, August 11, 1875,— "If the Grand Lodge 
 of this Territory should see fit to send an order to Elk 
 Point, stating that I was dangerous to the prosperity of 
 the order, and that they must execute Masonic penal- 
 ties upon me, they must do it and take my life, or vio- 
 late their sworn obligations! "' 
 
 Behold also the dangerous power that may control 
 the rank and file of the Masonic body. Ma&key and 
 Chase — both reliable Masonic authors — say : " The , 
 power of a Master in his lodge is absolute." " No ap^ 
 peal from his decision to the members of his lodge can 
 be taken." 
 
By turning to Chase's Digest of Masonic Law, we 
 find the following astonishing applications of the most 
 dreadful power of the Grand Lodge over Masons and 
 their property. See on pages 22, 28, 36, the following : 
 
 "1st. To 'erase,' 'extinguish,' or destroy, any local 
 lodge at pleasure. 
 
 2nd. To tax lodges, and individual Masons, at its dis- 
 cretion; pages 24, 448. 
 
 3rd. To withdraw the charter of any local lodge, and 
 confiscate and seize all its money, property, papers, &c.; 
 pages 121-2. 
 
 4th. To expel individual Masons from the craft; 
 page 22. 
 
 6th. To inflict punishment on Masons without re- 
 striction; page 22." 
 
 Such power must be dangerous in a high degree, and 
 imperil the dearest interests of citizens of the State. 
 But the selfishness of Freemasonry and its anti-repub- 
 licanism may be seen by reference to the oath of the 
 Royal Arch, as seen on page 342, Light on Masonry. 
 Here the candidate swears "to promote a Royal Arch 
 Mason's political preferment in preference to another of 
 equal qualifications." This favoritism undermines merit 
 and equality at the expense of republicanism. Abra- 
 ham Lincoln said in a speech, I think delivered in 1859, 
 — " That slavery cannot long exist in a republican gov- 
 ernment." And he might have said that the grinding 
 slavery of the lodge caiinotlong live in an enlightened 
 and purely republican government. There are now in the 
 American Congress eighty- three ex-rebel and military 
 officers. How did they n se so soon from their bed of trea- 
 son! I lay the blame at the door of the Masonic lodge 
 The many wings to its army, with its well-drilled and in- 
 triguing officers, clothed with the power of despots, and 
 with the cunning and treachery of devils, control the 
 ignorant masses, and the polls declare eighty-three reh^ 
 ds to be loyal members of Forty-fourth Congress ! These 
 
10 
 
 are ^rave charges. But *e have good reason ibr them. 
 In 1826, a man, while engaged in writing and publish- 
 ing, in accordance with his constitutional rights, was 
 deprived of "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.'' 
 The loyal North saw the real character, and/eii the dan- 
 ger oi Speculative Freemasonry; and fifteen hundred 
 I6dges suspended, and forty-five thousand members left 
 the lodges. Masonic secrets were published to the 
 world, conventions of seceding Masons were held, and 
 declarations of independence froin Masonic despotism 
 were signed, and, pledges of increased loyalty to the State 
 were made; and it is not too much to say that the best 
 men of the order left it and returned no more. But in 
 the slave States the despotism of slavery and Mason- 
 ry being united in selfish interest, sympathized with and 
 strengthened each other imtil they felt able to either 
 rule or ruin the nation ! Hence the rebellion of 1860. 
 I wish here to notice some of the other secret societies 
 as auxiliary to Masonry, and the way the master lodge 
 controls the children as so many servants. The Inde- 
 pendent Order of Odd-fellows was organized by a refu- 
 gee who escaped the gallows in England-^in a garret in 
 Baltimore. See Light on Masonry, page 443. Chaih- 
 bers' Encyclopedic says: "Thomas Wildey instituted 
 Washington Lodge jSlo. 1, in 1820; getting charter from 
 York Lodge, Procton, England. But in 1826 another 
 charter was obtaiued granting to the Grand Lodge, of 
 the United States sole jurisdiction over the Order in 
 this country." Do Odd-fellows know or ever tell the 
 date and circumstances of their origin? 
 
 When the terrible damage was done to Masonry by 
 ■the murder of Morgan and abuse of Miller, his pub- 
 lisher, ia 1826, Masons were known io have resolved on 
 " being quiet for about 20 years." Before the 20 years 
 were quite up the Sons of I'emperance were organi- 
 
11 
 
 - zed. If this society kad been instituted by a pat- 
 riot or. Christian for a benevolent object only, and 
 not by Masons, to catch the unsuspecting in their 
 net and thereby shut their mouths to complaint against 
 the parent lodge of Masonry, it would not be difficult 
 to get the early history of the " Sons." The Indepen- 
 dent Order of Good Templars was organized in Ithaca, 
 N. Y., by Nathaniel Curtis, July 21st, 1852, with suffi- 
 cient change from the " Sons" to attract attention and 
 give further diill and respect to secretism. As the 
 " Sons" were a success the Good Templars' origin given 
 would now be valuable. The Knights of the Golden 
 Circle, and several other secret orders have since been 
 organized over the country. South and North, without 
 much difficulty, since the injured character of Masonry 
 in 1826 has been partially healed by the temperance or- 
 ders more especially. The civil war was concocted by 
 slave-holding Freemasons and their sympathizers North 
 as well as South; and the loss of blood and treasure — ^it 
 may be — should be charged to the lodge rather than to 
 slavery! The head grows weary and the heart sick 
 when we view the suffering and death of a million of this 
 nation's most healthy and most promising young men ! 
 But what is the nation's history since the war? The 
 rebels conquered, and the rights of the people restored 
 and respected? No! there have been more than five 
 thousand murders in the southern States since 1865, and 
 the machinery of persecution and death is still revolv- 
 ing. To aid this bloody work, the Ku-Klux, White 
 League and grange have been instituted — by men out- 
 side the secret orders do you say? — or by rebel Freema- 
 sons, with enough of her members in each to govern 
 with absolute certainty in the South, and to control 
 many districts in the northern States ? 
 Is there a secret society in America, of any note. 
 
la 
 
 that Masons do not or cannot enter and, directly or in- 
 directly, control? 
 
 The grange was invented in the South in 1867, and 
 planted in the North in 1868. The seed taking root in 
 Minnesota, it grew there without the suspicion of many 
 good men as to the character of its southern parentage and 
 the nature of the work designed for its northern children. 
 Hence many good people in the North have been un- 
 consciously doing dirty work for the aristocrats and de- 
 mons who imprisoned, starved and killed their dearest 
 relatives in the rebellion! All societies, having binding 
 and perpetual obligations of secrecy, however beautified 
 by paintings and bewitching promises are either invent- 
 ed by Freemasons directly or indirectly, or may be en- 
 tered by them, and finally be brought under their easy 
 control. 
 
 Look again at the Grand Lodge of Masonry! "Its 
 power is absolute:" Mackey's Lexicon, page 183; and 
 to the promise and oath of the Masters of subordinate 
 lodges when inaugurated, who agree " strictly to con- 
 form to all edicts of the Grand Lodge " Now, I ask, is 
 it not weakness and folly to suppose that the Grand 
 Master of th e Grand Lodge of any of the States, with 
 his, and all his predecessors' experience and knowledge, 
 since the firgt lodge was set up on the continent in Bosr 
 ton, in 1736, does not know his own children? And 
 being clothed with the absolute power of a despot, can he 
 not govern them? Unless overruled by Providence as in 
 the late rebellion the time is near when Congress will 
 pay to the South the fifty million dollars already claimed 
 as damages to rebel property by Union and confederate 
 soldiers, and in less than ten years, the whole of the 
 rebel war debt will be assamed by the United States 
 government. " God save our country!" Awful respon- 
 sibilities are upon this nation. Mr. President, I will 
 
13 
 
 close this part of my lecture by quoting the words and 
 adopting the sentiments of Wm. H. Seward, which he 
 delivered in the United States Senate in 1855. 
 
 " Secret societies, sir ! Before I^ would place my hand 
 between the hands of other men, in a secret lodge, or- 
 der, class, or council, and bending on my knee before 
 them enter into combination with them for any 'object, 
 personal or political, good or bad, I would pray to God 
 that that hand and that knee might be paralyzed, and 
 that I might become an objpct of pity, and even the 
 mockery of my fellow men. Swear, sir! 1, a man, an 
 American citizen, a Christian, swear to submit myself to 
 the guidance and direction of other men, surrender my 
 iudgment to their judgment and my own conscience to 
 their keepiug ! 
 
 No, no, sir! I know quite well the fallibility of my 
 own judgment, and my liability to fall into error and 
 temptation. But my life has been spent in breakiug 
 the bonds of the slavery of men. I, therefore, know too 
 well the danger of confiding power to irresponsible 
 hands, to make myself a willing slave!" 
 
 3. Of the dangerous character of secret societies the 
 church has most to fear. The health and growth of the 
 Christian religion depend upon the purity and in- 
 telligence of her friends. These friends must be awake 
 and active; for it is "while men sleep the enemy sows 
 tares." The holy office and power of the church of Je- 
 sus Christ must be conscientiously regarded by good 
 men. True morality rests upon the basis of Christian- 
 ity; nor can a republican government long exist with- 
 out her support. Every institution either supports or 
 tends to cripple the church of Christ. " No man can 
 serve two masters." There is but " one faith and one 
 Lord." Truth admits no neutrality nor compromise. 
 By these truth-tests men and institutions will either 
 
14- 
 
 stand or fall; and "by their fruits ye shall know them." 
 What is the nature of Speculative Freemasonry as 
 viewed from a Christian standpoint, and as sho^m by 
 standard Masonic aulholrs? But before giving testimo- 
 ny here let this proposition be made: If Freemasonry 
 be a religion and claims saving power without the Lord 
 Jesus Christ, then the conclusion will be inevitable that 
 it is the rival of Christianity and the enemy of man- 
 kind. Albert G. Mackey, Past General Grand High 
 Priest, Perfect Prince Freemason, &c., says in his Lexi- 
 con, page 404: " The religion of Masonry is pure the- 
 ism, on whi^h its different members engraft their own 
 peculiar opinions; but they are not permitted to intro- 
 duce them into the lodge/' Daniel Sickels, Knight of 
 the Brazen Serpent, Prince of Mercy, &c., says in his 
 Monitor, page 34: "The common gavel is an instru- 
 ment made use of by operative Masons to break off the 
 comers of rough stones, the better to fit them for the 
 builder's use; but we, as free and accepted Masons, are 
 taught to make use of it for the more noble and glori- 
 ous purpose of divesting our hearts and consciences of 
 all the vices and superfluities of life, thereby fitting our 
 minds as living stones for that spiritual buildingi that 
 house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens." 
 "Hail, Masonry divine. Thou art divine." — Sickels' 
 Monitor, page 144. " All the ceremonies of our order 
 are prefaced and terminated with prayer, because Ma- 
 sonry is a religious institution:" Mackey 's Lexicon, page 
 371. Salem Town, as quoted by Rev. C. G. Finney, 
 says: " Every good Mason is of necessity truly and em- 
 phatically a Christian: and is assured of his election 
 and final salvation." In Sickels'' Monitor, page 78, you 
 will find this, in summing up the first three degrees: 
 " These three degrees thus form a perfect and harmoni- 
 ous whole, nor can we conceive that anything can be 
 
sfigge^ed more which the sotil of man reqmres." "4 
 Mason, wlio, by living in strict obedience to the obliga- 
 tions and precepts of the fraternity is free from sin!" 
 Mackey's Lexicon, page 16. These quotations are suffi- 
 cient to establish the fact beyond a doubt that Preemaf 
 sonry is regarded by its best authors as a rciigious and 
 saying institution, and that, too, without Christ or the 
 Holy Spirit. 
 
 . in the degree of the Knights of the Christian Mark, 
 Knights of the Holy Sepulchre and in the Holy and 
 Thrice Illustrious Order of the Cross, the name of Christ 
 is used. . These degrees haying been added professedly 
 for the benefit of Christians, we will see how much of 
 Christianity they contain. On page 188, Light on Ma- 
 sonry, you will find a recognition of his HoUness, i?©pe 
 Sylvester, and on page 199, you will find the candidaiio 
 swears, " by the blessing of God, to punish the violator 
 of his obligation, by pointing him out as an unworthy 
 vagabond; by opposing his interest, by deranging his 
 business, by transfering his character after him wher&r. 
 ever he may go * * * during his whole natural life." 
 A further penalty is annexed to the violator of his oath 
 of. having a spear thrust into his left side! You will 
 remember that these Christian degrees are reached 
 through all'the lower degrees where Christ is rejected. 
 Now is, it possible to reject Christ in some degrees, and- 
 accept him in others, when all the degrees are bound to- 
 gether with death cords? Is it Christianity to persecute 
 a seceding brother during any part of his natural life? 
 That Masonry still professes to save men may be seen 
 by the funeral sermon on the death of Mr. Gerhart, 
 preached by Rev. Mr. Lease, and published in the 
 ^[Marshall Times" of Marshall county, Iowa, March 16, 
 1876. To the fraternity in large numbers, Mr. Lease 
 s^idi " Let mo urge you to live as just and upright Ma- 
 sons; then shall you not fear to enter the door of death; 
 for our faith having purified our hearts working by - 
 
1« 
 
 love * * * we shall be safely moored, ready to welcome 
 death as a kind messenger set from the Supreme Grand 
 Master to translate ns from the imperfect to the all- 
 t)erfecl Lodge above." The deceased was a Mason but 
 made ri<j profession of the Christian religion. 
 
 The testimony of seceding Masons is of the very best 
 character. On the 4th of July, 17 f 6, fifty-six good and 
 brave men declared thirteen British colonies to be "In- 
 dependent States"; and on the ith day of July 1828, at 
 ieRoy, N. Y.V one hundred and three equally good and 
 brave men severed their allegiance from the Masonic 
 institution and declared to the world their abhorrence 
 «f t!ie laws and usages cf •ihc order and their final sep- 
 aration from it; and: for their security pledged to each 
 otheif their lives, fortunes, and sacred honor. See Light 
 ©n Masonry, pages 314. to 320. Is not the testimony 
 lof these men the very best human testimony? It was 
 voluntary oix their part^ but the result of convictions 
 of duty to God and their country^ It was given also at 
 the. risk of Masonic penalties,; ,.:tp which they made 
 themselves liable, and whichthe b||d. men yet remain-' 
 ing ia the lodge, might execute. ■, Now these witnesses 
 testify the following: See Light on Masonry, pages 
 317-3I8'- 
 
 " It (Masonry,) blasphemes the name, and attempts 
 personification of the Great Jehovah. It prostitutes the 
 sacred Scriptures to unholy purposes,, to subserve its 
 ■own secular and trifling concerns. It. weakens the 
 sanctions of morality and religion, by theV multiplica- 
 tion of profa;rie; oaths, end an immoral fainjU^ty with 
 religious forms' and ceremonies. It destroy&'al^,'^ venera- 
 tion for religion and religious ordinances by 'xhe pro- 
 fane use of religious forms. It substitutes the self- 
 righteousness and ceremonies of Masonry for the vital 
 religion and ordinances of the Gospel. It promotes 
 habits of idleness and intemperance, by its members 
 neglecting their busiaess to attend to its meetings and 
 
17 
 
 drink its KbatioHS. * * * An institution thusjfranglit with 
 so many and/ great evilsi is .dangerous to our gavem- 
 ment and the safety of our citizens, and is unfit to ex- 
 ist among a free people. We, therefore, believing it to 
 he a duty we owe to God, our country, and to posterity, 
 resolve to expose its mystery, wickedness, and tendencgr, 
 to public view, and we exhort all citizens who have a 
 love of country, and a veneration for its laws, a spirit 
 of our holy religion, and a regard for the welfare . of 
 mankind, to aid us in the cause which we have espoused, 
 and appealing to Almighty Crod for the rectitude of our 
 motives, we solemnly absolve ourselves from all . alle- 
 giauqe to the Masonic institution and declare ourselves 
 free and independent." 
 
 I now turn to the false claims of the order as to its 
 antiquijiy. Surely if men tell and practice deception 
 and falsehood, their claim to Christianity is destroyed. 
 Now call attention to the many times Masonic orators 
 and writers have claimed that Noah, Abraham, King 
 Solomon, St. John, and many other ancient worthies 
 were Freemasons. I give an incident. In a re§pecta- 
 ble, town of near three thousand inhabitants, and in 
 a church, were gathered friends to pay a tribute iof 
 respect to. a deceased Knight Templar^ Several hun- 
 dred others were, present, including Knights with their 
 swords, who occupied the altar, and other Masons in 
 thc! rear, but without war weapons. This gathering 
 was within the present century; it was in the year 
 1875. At the close of the solemn funeral sermon, I 
 heard the preacher sa,y these ^'' weighty words f "Now 
 brethren of the fraternity I hope you :w,iU imitate the 
 example of your first Grand Master, King Solomonl" 
 It has long since been abundantly proven that SpeC- 
 ujative Freemasoniy dates no farthet back than Apple- 
 tree,ta(vern, London, 1717. But not till 1875 did any 
 noted orator venture to tell the truth as did Prof. T. S. 
 JParvin, P. Gt. M. and G. Secretary of the ^r^Jid liO^e, 
 
18 
 
 and &. orator of Graad Coiimandery, at Eeokuk, before 
 the fixand Commandery of the State of Iowa. He said 
 that "Adam and Enoch and their long line of succes- 
 sors, ante and post-diluvian, are perfectly free from the 
 sin and odium the anti's would attach to the ' Morgan- 
 Mllers' of the 19th century. Even Solomon was no 
 Mason, with all his wisdom great as it was, he knew no 
 more of the mysteries of Freemasonry than the Queen 
 of -Sheba, who came from afar to adore his wisdom and 
 the temple he built. . , . Nor is there any evidence, 
 however faint, to prove that either of the St. Johns, 
 .... were Masons, beyond the wish that it were so. 
 .... Nor is it true that all the Presidents from 
 Washington to Grant included, were or are Masons. 
 The first Was, the last is not. And what would the 
 spirits of those Anti-masons, the elder and younger Ad- 
 ams, and VanBuren, and Fillmore say to the cruel ac- 
 cusation, could they but wing their way back to the 
 earth and throw back the lie in the face of their falsifi- 
 ers. It is true, howevei*, and the truth ought to be 
 told, that Arnold, the single traitor of his age and coun- 
 try, was a Mason. The institution of Freemasonry 
 did not originate' among the Jews, nor even in Asia, 
 It sprang, acqprding to the best evidence in Europe. 
 vc . . The oldest Masonic book in existence is not 
 two centuries old." I have thus qoloted this extract 
 from a prominent Masonic orator to prove this fact, thsit 
 Christian men who unite with the order, sanction its 
 false claims to venerable antiquity, deceive the unin- 
 , formfed, lend their sacred influence to the publication 
 of falsehoods, place themselves with the enemies of 
 truth, and thereby forfeit all just claim to intelligent 
 Christianity. 
 
 In the light of this and other testimony, what re- 
 spect should be given men and institutions that claim 
 'Solomon and St. John with the great and good men of 
 modern time as worthy Freemasons? What, alas, be- 
 
19 
 
 comes of the ceremonial falsehood of killing and raising 
 Hiram Abiff ? But when we view the laws of Masonry 
 as prohibiting, under fearful penalties, the work of ev- 
 angelical repentance, its charactei becomes more awful 
 still. Mistakes and crimes result from universal de- 
 pravity; but God graciously pardons the penitent 
 through his contrition and the confession of his faith 
 in Christ, and makes him an heir of glory. Wounds, 
 'too, are healed between offended brethren by mu- 
 tual confession of faults one to another. This is 
 Grod's order. Freemasonry cannot hinder conviction 
 nor contrition but forbids confession of • a brother's 
 crimes when known as Masonic secrets, under the psn- 
 alty of death! We will suppose a brother Royal Arch 
 Mason steals $500 of his neighbor. The theft may be 
 known to a professor of the Christian religion who has 
 promised " to keep his secrets and to extricate him from 
 any difficulty, whether he be right or wrong, murder and 
 treason not excepted." Now suppose it be surmised that 
 this man knows of the whereabouts and crime of his bro- 
 ther Mason, but has been quiet. He is however brought 
 into court as a witness in behalf of the state. The thief 
 has been arrested on suspicion and brought intb court. 
 The case is now called — this witness is sworn to tell the 
 whole truth and God is appealed to as a witness of his 
 integrity. He is asked, " Doyou knowthis defendant?" 
 He answers "Yes, sir." "Do you know anything about 
 him stealing $500 from Mr. A?" Now comes the test! 
 He has taken two oaths precisely opposite each other. 
 Already his conscience is bent, and now it must break 
 by the threatened hammer of death; and the witness ac- 
 tually swears that he knows nothing of the stealing. It 
 must be acknowledged that he has been true to his Ma- 
 sonic obligations; but where is his Christianity? He is 
 now perjured before the civil law; and however deeply 
 his conscience may convict him, and however contrite 
 he maybe, even on his dying bed, he dare not confess 
 
20 
 
 his sin to the civil authprities; nor to his own wife, 
 that he may possibly die in peace, without breaking 
 his Masonic obligations. Masonry by the parent socie- 
 ty, or any of its white-washed children, operates daa- 
 gerously to Christian union and fellowship. While it 
 is right to mingle freely with men of the world, and 
 engage in commercial transactions with them; and 
 while it is duty to do good unto all men as we have op- 
 portunity, it is not allowable to hold religious fellowship 
 with infidels. To worship with unbelievers, and call 
 them brethren as in the lodge, is to damage both the 
 good .and bad; because it is a compromise in which the 
 good suffer by recognizing principles which the Bible 
 condemns. It also injures wicked men by the approval 
 given by virtue of their association with the good, in 
 which the idea that God is well pleased with the false 
 doctrine and false worship, gradually but necessarily 
 obtains. Thus the wicked obtain a false hope. Hence 
 the reason why so very few Freemasons, and especially 
 those in the higher degrees, ever become the meek and 
 lowly follower of the Lord Jesus Christ.- To Christians 
 the Scriptures are authority on all questions of duty. 
 God commands Christians " to have no fellowship with 
 unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them." 
 Again, " Be ye not unequally yoked together with un- 
 believers. For what fellowship hath righteousness 
 with unrighteousness; and what communion hath light 
 with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with 
 Belial ? And what part hath he that believeth with an 
 infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of 
 God with idols. Wherefore come out from among them 
 and be ye separate." Christians by the authority of 
 these Scriptures are positively forbidden to hate, or to 
 hold religious communion and fellowship with wicked 
 men! These apply with great force to all secret societies. 
 For all such are forbidden by Bible precept and by 
 implication. Christ is the moral centre of all piire fellow- 
 
u 
 
 sEip. Clirist is the only Rock cleft, the only Door ppeii, 
 the only Truth given whereby men must be saved. 
 Let me believe in Christ, and sing with the poet: 
 " In my hand no price 1 bring; simply to the cross I 
 cling," and I am happy. After all be said that can 
 truthfully be spoken against secret associations of men, 
 the fact that these institutions virtually deny Christ 
 and his atonement, is the most awful fact ever written ! 
 What would some of the results be if all Christian pro- 
 fessors would break their connection and withdraw 
 their fellowship from all secret associations, and do as 
 Paul commanded, " Beprove them?" Well, the lodge 
 alone would bear the blame of defeating the ends of jus- j 
 tice in our courts, and of persecuting honest seceders ^ 
 and worthy opposers; whereas every species of crime ' 
 now committed against the secret compact, the state 
 and the church, because of the oaths, the ceremonies, the 
 deceptions and the intrigues of the lodge, is necessarily 
 shared by church members who belong to the lodge. 
 The time would then be near when all who now speak 
 well of secretism, and thereby become accomplices in 
 the crimes of lodge persecutions and murder, would see 
 their folly and wickedness, and bear testimony against 
 it. There would speedily be a closer union between 
 different branches of Christ's church; a much-needed 
 object. There are ministers and members in all of the 
 orthodox churches who cannot with all their charity, 
 fellowship those who have taken oaths of which John 
 Quincy Adams says " a common cannibal would be 
 ashamed." So many of Christ's professed friends have 
 gone into these Christless institutions, that those who 
 know their so-called secrets, look with just suspicion 
 upon strangers until their whereabouts are known. It is 
 a great happiness as well as blessing to unite with dif- 
 ferent denominations of Christians in evangelical work. 
 But when it is known that even ministers professedly 
 employed in such blessed work for Christ, "who ip. s©- 
 
cret said nothing," have teen stripped, haltered, blind- 
 folded and blasphemously sworn, how is it possible to 
 preach, pray, or sing with such men? Were these 
 things all taken out of the way, would not Christian 
 denomiaations and individual hearts flow together? 
 And thus united would it be too much to expect the 
 speedy conquest of the world to Christ, the ushering 
 in of the millennium, with the sweetest sentiments 
 and purest melodies of men and angels, " Glory to God 
 in the highest, Peace on earth and good will to men.'' 
 
 M. S. DRURY, 
 President Iowa State Association. 
 
THIRTEEN REASONS 
 
 WHY A CHRISTIAN SHOULD NOT 
 
 BE A FREEMASON. 
 
 -BT.^ 
 
 Rbv. ROBERT ARMSTRONG, 
 
 /'otto' «f the Firit United PrabyUrian, CJmreh, Sobek«n, N. J. 
 
 CHICAGO, ILLINOIS: 
 
 EZRA A. COOK. PUBLISHER. 
 
THIRTEEN REASONS 
 
 WHY A CHRISTIAN SHOULD NOx' BE A 
 FREEMASON. 
 
 I. BKOAnsx Freemasonry strips man of his manhood. 
 It is not only silly, but positively degrading for any man and 
 esjjedally for a Christian man, to allow himself to be led into 
 tbe lodge-room, half-naked, blind-folded, and with a halten 
 arotind his neck. Who, that is possessed of the spirit of a\ 
 man, would not be ashamed to appear in public in such a 
 ridiculous plight? If seen by the outside world in this d6- 
 mading condition, would he not be ashamed ever after to 
 nold up his head? He, who can 3ubmit to such degradation, 
 has lost much of the spirit of a man ; and this is the opinion 
 of Masons themselves, when honost enough to express thaii' 
 fedibgs. Samuel D. Oreene tells us that the candidate "is 
 put 'through a course of preliminary nonsense, offensive to 
 MS' moral sense, and degrading to his manhood. "* 
 
 II. Because Freemasonry emstoves men. Once initiated a 
 man is no longer his own master; the fraternity hold him, 
 and- control him, and claim the right so to do. He must go 
 and come at their bidding, at any hour of the night, and' 
 must execute their every command, at the peril of his own 
 life. He is bound, by the most terrible oaths and penalties, 
 to "obey all regular signs and summons, given, handed, sent, 
 or thrown to him by the hand of a fellow Mason. " The 
 thing required of him may be positively sinful; it may be 
 m/urder or treason; yet he must obey. Henry L. Valance, 
 one of the three men who murdered William Morgan, tells 
 lis that, when he discovered the fatal letter on the slip of 
 paper, which he had drawn, he '^started back in horror;" 
 aaa that his "first thought was to turn and fly;" and that he 
 
 ♦"The Dtokes Seal," page it. 
 
4 THIBTEBN BEASON8 WHY A CttRlStlAS 
 
 was prevented from doing so only by the fear of being treated 
 by his comrades '-as they were about to treat Morgan."* Is 
 not this slavery of the worst kind Should any man, but 
 especially any Christian man, ever plaiie himself in circum- 
 stances where he may be compelled to do what he knows to 
 be sinful ? Surely not ! 
 
 III. Because Freemasonry takes away from man liberty 
 of conscience and liberty of speech. In the act of initiation 
 liberty of conscience is surrendered; the candidate leaves it 
 to another, person, and he perhaps a Deist or a Jew, to' judge 
 for him what wiU, or what will not interfere with his "politics 
 and religion." Should any man do this? But especially 
 should any Christian man, a man who believes that God 
 alone is Lord of the conscience, ever do it ? Jsor is this all. 
 With liberty of conscience, freedom of speech is surrendered. 
 The doings of the lodge, and the working, of the Order in 
 general, may be of such a character as to shock his sense of 
 right and wrong, yet he must not express a word of disap- 
 probation. He may know of deep laid plans of murder and 
 of treason; but he dare not reveal them, nor do anything to 
 prevent their execution, without placing his own life in jeop- 
 ardy. In proof of this the reader is referred to the oaths jtei- 
 ken by Freemasons as published in "Light on Masonry, by 
 Eld. DavidBernard," a book which should be in the han(U 
 of all. 
 
 / IV. Because Freemasonry /)rQ/awcs the ordimawce of the 
 OcM, There is not an oath taken by this, nor by any other 
 ' oath-bound secret society, but what involves a breach of. the • 
 Third Commandment. In all of them there is a taking of 
 I the name of God in vain. The Oath is an ordinance of God; 
 I and a lawful oath is a part of religious worship ; Deut x : 20. 
 To be lawful, there must be something in, the nature of the 
 case demanding the solemnity of an oath, and the oath itself 
 must be lawfuUy administered, either by an officer of the 
 Church, or of the State in his offidal capa.city; and the per- 
 son swearing must swear intelligently, knowing what he de- 
 clares to be true, and what he binds himself to perform tobe 
 
 *Cosles8ioii'Of'Heiit7L. Valance, page 18. 
 
SHOTILD NOT BE A FBEBMASOH. 8 
 
 right and proper for him to do. ' 'Whosoever taketh an 
 oath, ought duly to consider the weightiness of so solemn an 
 act, and therein to avouch nothing but what he is persuaded 
 is the truth. Neither may any man bind himself by oath to 
 anything but what is good and just, and what he believeth so 
 to be, and what he is able and resolved to perform."* In 
 three ways, then, these extrajudicial oaths are a taking the 
 name of God in vain. (1.) They unduly multiply the oath, 
 and besides they are taken on trivial occasions; there is noth- 
 ing in the nature of the case to warrant the solemnity of an 
 oath. It is trifling with Jehovah to take an oath under such 
 circumstances. (2.) 8uch oaths are not lawfully adminio- 
 tered; they are never administered by an officer of the 
 Church, or of the State in his official capacity; but always 
 by an officer of the lodge as such. And (3) the oath, in it- 
 self is sinful, because the person sweating binds himself to 
 do, he knows not what. He swears to keep secret, things 
 not yet made known to him, and which, for aught he knows, 
 may be positively sinful; and to obey rules and regulations of 
 which he knows absolutely nothing. The "Fellow Craft" 
 thus swears: "Furthermore, I do promise and swear, that 
 I will support the Constitution of the Grand Lodge of the 
 United States and of the Grand Lodge of this State, under 
 which this lodge is held, and conform to the by-laws, rules, 
 and regulations of this, or any other Lodge of which I may 
 at any time hereafter become a member, as far as in my 
 power, "t And yet at the time of swearing, he knows no 
 more of "the Constitution of the Grand Lodge," nor of the 
 "by-laws, rules, and regulations" of any other Lodge of 
 which he may afterwards become a member, than he does of 
 what shall happen a thousand years hence. In view, then, 
 of these things, are not these extrajudicial oaths sinful? 
 And being sinful, should any man, but especially a Christian 
 man, and a Christian minister take them ? 
 
 V. Because Freemasonry excludes from her prayers the 
 name of Jesus. Masons may, and perhaps sometimes do, 
 
 •Westminster ConfeBBloo of Paith, chap. 22, sec 3. 
 
 f Bernard's Light on Masonry and Odd-ITellowshlp. page 69. 
 
9 THmTKBlN BBASONS "WBir A OHRISTIAIf 
 
 pray in the name of Jesus; but in doing bo, they do notpraf 
 Masonioally. If the reader will take the trouble to examine 
 the forms of prayer, as published by the Order, he will be 
 convinced of the truth of the foregoing statement. The 
 writer has examined all their published prayers, to which he 
 could gain access, and he has yet to find one in which any 
 reference is made to Him, through whom alone an acceptable 
 approach can be mdae to God the Father. He has yet to 
 find one that is not more suitable for the Hps of a Turk, or a 
 Jew, or a Deist than for the lips of a Christian. Follower of 
 Jesus, what think you of this? How can you bring your- 
 self to join such an order ? Rather say, ' '0 my soul, come 
 not thou into their secret; unto their assembly, mine honor 
 be not thou united." 
 
 VI. Because Freemasonry recognizes no religion, but the 
 universal religion of nature . On the 46th page of ' ' Ahiman 
 Rezon," (a book compiled for and adopted by the Grand 
 Lodge of Pennsylvania, June 15th, 1857,) we read thus: 
 "As Masons, we only pursue the Universal religion, or the 
 religion of nature. " As Masons, then, they do not recog- 
 nize the Christian religion ; they have a religion, but not the 
 religion of the Bible. Theirs is the reU^on of nature — a 
 religion which suits Jews, and Turks, and Pagans, and Deists. 
 The moment a Christian man enters the Lodge Room, he 
 leaves his religion and his Saviour behind him. He dare not 
 carry either with him; practically he must disown both. 
 Christian reader, are you prepared to do this ? Surely not 
 Then, as you prize your religion and your Saviour, wage war 
 with this wicked system, which destroys the souls of men. 
 
 VII . Because Freemasonry, and all other societies, which 
 impose an Oath, or obligation of secrecy, are directly opposed 
 to the teacJiing of the (Saviour , He requires his people to 
 let their light be seen for the glory of God, and the good of 
 their fellow men, sajing: "Let your light so shine before 
 men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your 
 Father which is in heaven." Mattv: 16. They are not at 
 liberty to conceal the light of a holy life, or good example.- 
 But Freemasonry and all kindred Associations teach men to 
 
BHOtrU) irOT BE A FSEEMABOir. 7 
 
 conceal their Kght, if, indeed, they have any to conceal; and 
 the better to prevent others from enjoying the benefit of their 
 good example, they hold their meetings under the darkness 
 of night, with closely shaded v?indows, well-guarded doors, 
 and under terrible oaths of secrecy . Is this Christ-like? Is 
 it in harmony with His teaching 3 Can you imagine any- 
 thing more contrary to the example and teaching of Him, 
 who said: "I spake openly to the world; 1 ever taught in 
 the Synagogue and in the Temple whither the Jews always 
 resort; and in secret have I said nothing." Jno. xviii: 20, 
 
 VIII. Because Freemasonry cont'adicls the BUile. It 
 makes God a liar; it teaches the very opposite, of the Bible. 
 In proof of this the reader needs only to be reminded of the 
 Masonic tradition, touching Hiram, the widow's son, for 
 whom Solomon sent and fetched out <'f Tyre. Freemasonry 
 teaches that this Hiram was murdered by three ruffians be- 
 fore that he had finished the work of the temple, because he 
 would not give to them the Master Mason's word; and on this 
 eilly tradition, the Third, or Master Mason Degree is founded. 
 Now, what does the Bible say touching this Hiram? Does 
 it tell us of his death before he had finished the work given 
 him to do? Nothing like it. It assures us that he com- 
 pleted the work which he had to do in connection with the 
 temple. Turn to 1 Kings, vii: 40, and you will read: "So 
 Hiram made an end of doing all the work that he made King 
 Solomon for the house of the Lord." To the same purpose 
 also is 2 Chron., iv: 11. Christian reader, which will you 
 believe ? The lying traditions of Masonry, or the unerring 
 word of God ? It seems strange indeed how any man who 
 loves God, and beUeves his word, can support an Order that 
 thus practically charges the Spirit of truth with recording a 
 falsehood. 
 
 IX. Because Freemasonry substitutes moraZiY^ for religion, 
 and teaches another way of salvation than that taught in the 
 Bible. While it rejects Christ the only Saviour of sinners, it 
 pretends to fit men for heaven ; and it teaches them to de- 
 pend on their own works, and on the keeping of Masonic 
 secrets; and not on the righteousness of Christ, for salvation. 
 
8 THIORTBES REASONS ■WttY A OHHrSTrAN 
 
 The Entered apprentice is thus taught:* "The perfect 
 Ashlar represents men in that state of perfection to which 
 we all hope to arrive hy means of a virtuous life and educa- 
 tion, our own endeavors, and the blessing of God." The 
 candidate for the degree of "Knights Adepts of the Eagle or 
 Sun' is taught to say, ' 'I desire to divest myself of original 
 an, and destroy the juvenile prejudices of error, which all 
 men are liable to."t In the same degree the candidate is 
 taught to believe that "the pyramid represents the true Ma- 
 son, who raises himself by degrees, till he reaches heaven."t 
 
 Now, what is the meaning of all this ? If words have any 
 meaning, are not men taught here to put their own works in 
 the room of the sacrifice of the cross ? If men can divest 
 themselves of "original sin," and arrive at "perfection by a 
 virtuous life and education, and their own endeavors;" and 
 raise themselves, "by degrees, till they reach heaven," what 
 need have they of Christ ? And are men who believe such 
 teaching likely to depend on Christ for salvation? 
 
 Then, again, the "Entered Apprentice" is thus in- 
 structed : ' '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 builders' 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 liAdng 
 and lively stones for that spiritual building, that house not 
 made with hands, eternal in the heavetis "§ Is not this sal- 
 vation by "the common gavel," and not by the blood of 
 Jesus ? If Masons, by the use of this instrument, can divest 
 their hearts and consciences of all the vices of life, and fit 
 themselves as living stones for "that spiritual building, that 
 house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens," what 
 need have they of Christ? In the same degree the candi- 
 date is taught, when tempted to violate the trust reposed in 
 him, to "put on the check-line of truth, which," it is added, 
 "will infallibly direct you to pursue that straight and narrow 
 
 *Bertiard'6 Light on Hasonry and Odd Fellowship, page 64, 
 t'rhe same, page 268. {The same, page WS. 
 
 {The Bame, pages 3% and 45. 
 
SHOULD NOT SB A FREBMAStOr. 9 
 
 path, which ends in the full enjoyment of the Grand Lodf^ 
 above."* Is not this reaching heaven by the keeping of 
 Masonic Secrets, and not through faith in Christ? In the 
 "Thrice IDustrious Order of the Cross" the candidate swears: 
 ' 'I do hereby accept of, and forever wiU consider the cross 
 and mark of this Order as my only hope."t If words have 
 any meaning, does not the candidate here swear that he will 
 make "the cross and mark of his order," and not the cross of 
 Christ, the foundation, and only foundation of his hope of 
 salvation ? If this be not their meaning, what do they 
 teach 1 The candidate for the "Degree of Perfection," is 
 taught to believe that the degree to which he aspires "will 
 fit him for futurity ."^: Is not this heaven gained by climbing 
 up the Masonic ladder, and not by the death of Christ? 
 What need have men of Jesus and his wofk, if ascending 
 the Masonic ladder till the degree of Perfection is reached, 
 "will fit" them "for futurity?" In the degree of "Grand 
 Pontiff, or Sublime Scotch Masonry," the candidate is taught 
 to believe that "the Satin Fillet, with the twelve Stars," 
 which he wears around his head, ' 'wiU procure the entrance 
 of those who wear it into the celestial Jerusalem."§ 
 
 Christian reader, is not this enough to show that Freema- 
 fsonry teaches another way of salvation, than that taught 
 in the Bible ? And yet the proof adduced is but a tithe of 
 what might be adduced. If you will but take the trouble 
 of examining the system yourself, you will not find a single 
 instance in which faith and repentance are urged as Masonic 
 duties ; nor will you find the righteousness of Christ so much 
 as named, as the ground of sinners' justification before God ; 
 nor will you meet with a syllable that would teach the neces- 
 sity of the Holy Spirit's influence in order to fit for heaven. 
 Masonry herself can do all. Only be a good Mason — keep 
 Masonic secrets, and obey Masonic laws ; and then, whether 
 you believe on Christ, or reject him, you shall at last ascend 
 to the Grand Lodge above to be forever with the Great Grand 
 Master, Jehovah. This is the sum and substance of Masonic 
 
 •Bernard's light on Maaonry and Odd FellowsMp, page 88. 
 tThe same, page 202. tThe same, page 330. 
 
 {The same, page 869. 
 
10 THtBTBEir BBABOITB WHT A OHBISTIAN 
 
 teaching. Should ChristSane, then, have anything todatwitfa 
 such a ■ Christian institution ? Surely not ! 
 
 X. BtctMseFieemasonrj proftines holy things. To pro- 
 ■ fene a thing in general, ia to put it to a •wrong use . Now see 
 how Freemasonry profaues the holy things of which we read 
 in scripture. The most holy place in the temple at Jerusar 
 lem was a most sacred spot; so sacred that none might enter 
 it but the high priest alone; and he but once a year; and 
 that not without blood, "which he offered for himself and 
 for the errors of the people." Heb. ix: 1. Yet this holy 
 place is profanely represented in the lodge-room; and at the 
 making of a Master Mason the candidate is conducted into a 
 place, which he is told represents ' 'the Sanctum tdanctorum, 
 or holy of holies, of King Solomoa's temple."* The ark 
 was a holy thing, so holy that the Lord slew Uzzah for 
 touching it, and over fifty thcmsand of the men of Beth- 
 shemesh for looMng into it. 1 Sam'l vi : 19, and 2 Sam 1 vi : 
 6-1. Yet even this is dragged into Masonry. In the Boyal 
 Arch degree, a small box is produced, which is pronounced 
 to be ''the ark of the covenant." From this box, the high 
 priest, as he is called, takes a vessel containing sometimes a 
 bit of sugar, sometimes a piece of a cracker, and at other 
 times a few kernels of wheat; and after looking at it intently, 
 smelling, and tasting whichever of these things is taken from 
 the box, he gravely pronounces it to be "manna." From 
 the same box, or so called ark, the would-be priest takes also 
 "a bit of an apple-tree sprout, a few inches long, with a few 
 withered buds upon it, or a stick of similar length, with a 
 few artificial buds upqn it, which, after consulting with the 
 king and scribe, he pronounces Aaron's Rod."+ 
 
 In the same degree there is a most profane representation 
 
 of Jehovah appearing to Moses from the burning bush — such 
 
 a representation as should make any Christian tremble. It 
 
 is thus described by one who understands well what he has 
 
 written : ' 'Sometimes an earthen pot is filled with earth, 
 
 and green bushes set around the edge of it, and a candle in 
 
 the center; and sometimes a s tool is provided with holes 
 
 ♦Bernard's Light on Masonry and Odd FelloweUp, page 78. 
 tThe same, page 168, 
 
eaotriiD ynyH bb a FKfeEUAlidir. 11 
 
 abotif the edg«, in -which bushes are placed, atid & bnndle of 
 rags or tOw, saturated with oU of turpentine, placed id' the 
 center, tb which fire is fcottimunicated. Sometimes ^ Mge 
 bush is Suspended from the (*aing, aroti'Dd the st6m tof whieh 
 • tow is wound',' Wet with the oil Of turpfen-tine. In WHiatfev6r 
 w4y the bush is prepared, when the Words are r6ad, 'He 
 looked, and behold, the bush burned with fire,' etc., the ban- 
 dage is removed from the eyes of the candidates, and they 
 see the fire in the bush ; and at the WOrds, 'Draw not iMgh 
 hither, put ofif thy shOeB,' etc. , the shoes of the can(Mfttes 
 are taken ofi", and they remain in the same situation WhOe 
 the rest of the passage is being read to the words, 'And Mo- 
 ses hid his facei for he was a^d to look upon God.' The 
 bandage is then replaced, and the candidates again travel 
 about the room while the next passage of scripture is rteSdi'^' 
 This author further tells us that, "When the persOn reading 
 Comes to that part where it sayS, 'God called to himoiitOf 
 the midst of the bush, and said,* etc., he stops reading, and 
 a person behind the bush, (evidently representing Jehovah) 
 calls out, 'Moses, Moses.' The isonduCtor an^-wel^i 'H«re altn 
 I.' The person behind the bush (representing Jehovah) the'n 
 says, 'Draw not nigh hither; put off thy shoes from off thy 
 feet,' etc. His shoes are then slipped off. And the WoriJs 
 are added (I suppose by the person from behind the bush 
 representing JehoVah) 'Moreover I am the God of Abf^ham, 
 and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob."* 
 
 Ghristian reader, what further need hkve yoti Of tes^no- 
 ny ? Is not this sufficient to establish the charge of profaniiig 
 holy things? If not, what Would establish Such a charge? 
 Much more evidence of a simUalr kind might be adduced; 
 but this is deemed amply sufficient What, then, must you 
 think of that Christian man, and of' that Christian minister 
 too, who can countenance and encourage, nay. support an 
 institution, wliich thus profanes holy" things? Must there not 
 be something wrong either ia the head, or in the heart, or in 
 both ? It is astonishing how any man, who has any regard 
 for religion, can remain identified with such an institu'tion ? 
 ^IHnney on XaspUry, page 338. 
 
12 THEKTBEK BEA60NB WHY A 0HBI8T1AN 
 
 XI. -Be^uijse Freemasoniy misquotes, misapplies, saA per- 
 verts the Scriptures. Many instances of this might be ad- 
 duced; let a few suffice. In the mock ceremony of passing 
 the Entered Apprentice from darkness to light, by the re- 
 moval of the bandage from his eyesj thesev words are read, 
 "And God said, let there be light, and there was light;" just 
 as though the reference in that passage was to the making 
 of a Mason. In the same degree the three knocks given at 
 the door by the candidate is explained to refer to this pas- 
 sage, '"Ask, and it shall be given; seek, and you shall find; 
 knock, and it shall be opened. unto you;" just as though the 
 Saviour, when he uttered these precious words, meant by 
 them the gaining of admission to a Masonic lodge, At the 
 making of a. Mark Master Mason these words are read, "So 
 the last shall be first, and the first last;" just as though the 
 Spirit of God intended them to describe what is then being 
 done by the«raft. And then, as the candidate passes around 
 the room, these words are read, "The stone which the build- 
 ers refused is become the head of the comer;" just as if this 
 lassage, which applies exclusively, to the Lord Jesus Christ, 
 tad ts fulfillment in the candidate being initiated. The hor- 
 rible oath having been taken, and the key-stone being about 
 to be placed in the hands of the candidate the Master says, 
 "We read in a passage of Scripture, Rev.; ii: lY, *To him 
 that pvercometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and 
 wUl give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name 
 written, which no man knoweth, saving he that receiveth it." 
 And then, presenting the stone to the candidate, he says, "I 
 now present you with a white stone, in which is written a 
 new name." In the same degree, the members of the lodge, 
 in imitation of the laborers of which we read in the parable 
 recorded. Matt, xx: 1-16, are assembled to receive their 
 wages; the Master, in imitation of the householder in the 
 parable, pretends to pay each man a penny : whereupon some 
 of the craft begin to munner because the candidate just 
 received has been paid as much as they have been, ' "who 
 have borne the burden and heat of the day." The Master 
 then says, "It is perfectly right;" and to restore order, reads 
 
 I 
 
KBOTIU> NOT XS X FBXmClMKK. 18 
 
 ihe parable. Is not this trifling. Tritli the word of God! At 
 the opening of a lodge of Most Exceillent Master Masons, the 
 24th Psalm is read — as though the lodge-room was what was 
 intended by the "hill of theXord," and "His holy place" in 
 that psalm. At the opening of a Chapter of Koyal Arch 
 Masons, the so-caUed high priest reads 2 Thess. iii: 6-18, 
 mutilating the passage, however, by omitting in the 6th verse 
 the words, "In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;" and in 
 12th verse the words, "By our Lord Jesus Christ"* 
 
 In this way Freemasonry misquotes, misapplies, and per- 
 verts the Scriptures. Is it possible to conceive of a more horrid 
 perversion of Scripture than what is contained in the above 
 instances ? It is amazing how any man, having the least rev- 
 erence for the Word of God, can lend his aid to so mutilate 
 and pervert the Scriptures. And what shall we think of 
 Christian men, and Christian ministers who do this very 
 thing? Are they worthy of the name? And are they doing 
 their Master's work ? 
 
 XII. Because Freemasonry is dangerous to society. Noth- 
 ing more is necessary to establish this point, than to read its 
 terrible oaths, and think of its barbarous penalties,' as these 
 are explained and enforced by the abduction and murder ot 
 William Morgan, and of others who have fallen victims to 
 Masonic rage. The following is a part of the Oath taken by 
 the Koyal Arch Mason : ' 'Furthermore, do I promise and 
 swear that I will aid and assist a companion Royal Arch 
 Mason, when engaged in any difficulty; and espouse his 
 cause, so far as to extricate him from the same, if in my pow- 
 er, whether lie be right or wrong. Also, that I will promote 
 a companion R. A. Mason's political preferment in preference 
 to another of equal qualifications. Furthermore, do I prom- 
 ise and swear, that a companion R. A. Mason's secrets, given 
 me in charge as such, I, knowing them to be such, shdl re- 
 main as secure and inviolable in my breast as his own, mur- 
 der and treason not excepted. "i The following is a part of 
 the Oath of the Thrice Illustrious Knights of the Cross : "You 
 
 * Bernard's Light on Uaeonry and Odd fellowelilp, pages 88, 4S, 10%, 107, 
 109,118,1«1,18S, 
 
 tTbe same aathor,'page 14%. 
 
14 TmBTESar xzilboiib -wmt a. cKsarux 
 
 fbrthi^ swear that, BhotiM> you know another toTiblate any 
 essential point of this obligation^ yOu will use your most d©- 
 oided endeavors, by ths blefeing of God, to bring such person 
 to the strictest and most.eondignpunishmenlr agreeably to 
 the rules and usages of our ancient fratemK^; and this by 
 pointing him out to the world as an unworthy vagabond; by 
 opposnng his interests, by deranging lus business, by transfer- 
 ring his character" (not his real character, but the character 
 that the fraternity^ may please to ^ve him) "after him wher- 
 ever he may go * * * during his whole natural life."* 
 
 Now, are the members of such an Order— men bound by 
 the most terrible oaths and penalties to oppose the interests, 
 and derange the business, and traduce the character of their 
 fellow men, who, from a sense of duty, may reveal their se- 
 crets, and expose their wickedness; and to espouse the cause 
 of a brother, whether right or wrong, and to keep his secrets 
 inyio\Me, mv/rder and treason not excepted, — are the mem- 
 bers of such an Order safe members of any community ? 
 What think you, reader! Arid what can you think of those 
 professing Christians, and ministers of the Gospel, who ad- 
 here to such an Order ? Are they having nothing to do with 
 the unfruitful works of darkness ? 
 
 XIII. Because Freemasonry as a system is altogether 
 anti- Christ'an, This is evident from the foregoing reasons; 
 but should a doubt, remain, it will be removed by what fol- 
 lows. In the degree of Knights Adepts of the £agle, or 
 Sun, we have the requisite qualities of a good Mason stated 
 in these words : "You must crush the head of the serpent of 
 ignorance. You must shake off the yoke of infant prejudice, 
 concerning the mysteries of the reigning religion, which wor- 
 ship has been imaginary, and only founded on the spirit of 
 pride, which envies to command and be distinguished, and 
 to be at the head of the vulgar, in affecting an exterior puri- 
 ty, which characterizes a false piety, joined to a desire of 
 acquiring that which is not its own, and is always the sub- 
 ject of this exterior pride, and unalterable source of many 
 disorders, which being joined to gluttonness, is the daughter 
 
 •Bernard'B Llgbt on iioBoacj and Odd FelloWBhip, page 199. 
 
(EOUU) KOT BK A FBIimiASOK. 18 
 
 o( hypocrisy, and employs every matter to satisfy carnal de- 
 sires, and raises tothese predominant passions, altars, upon 
 which she maintains without ceasing, the light of iniquity, 
 and sacrifices continually oflFerings to luxury, voluptuousness, 
 hatred, envy, and perjury. Behold, my dear brother, what 
 you must fight against and destroy, before you can come to 
 the knowledge of the true, good, and sovereign happiness. 
 Behold this monst&r which you must conquer — a serpent 
 which we detest as an idol that is adored by the idiot and 
 vulgar under the name of Sdigion."* 
 
 Hsre the cloven-foot shows itselfl After reading the above 
 can you doubt the origin of Fremasonry ? Bud what shall we 
 say and think of those who profess Christianity, who 
 still adhere to it? Are they worthy of the name? What! 
 Christian men, and Christian ministers too, supporting an 
 Order, and refusing to leave it, which characterizes the Chris- 
 tian as an idiot and a hypocrite, and the Christian religion as 
 a monster and a serpent that must be crushed ! Follower of 
 Jesus, how can you remain identified with such an order ? 
 ' 'Come out from among them, and be separate, and touch 
 not the unclean thing.' 
 
 Other reasons might be assigned; but these are deemed 
 sufficient to convince any unprejudiced mind that a Christian 
 should not be a Freemason. And most of these reasons are 
 equally coQclusive against the Order of Odd Fellows; while 
 many of them are no less valid against every Order, which 
 imposes on its members an oath, or obligation of secrecy. 
 From aU such. Christians should keep themselves free. 
 •Beruud's Lieht on Utsonry and OddFellowsblp, pages S70, 971 
 
FREEMASONRY 
 
 CONTRARY TO 
 
 The Christian Religion. 
 
 BY "spectator," 
 
 In The Christian Cynosure^ of yuly 
 nth and 18/A, 1872. 
 
 CHIC AGO, ILLINOIS: 
 
 EZRA A. COOK, PUBLISHER. 
 
 1882. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 — BY 
 
 REV. RUFUS JOHNSON. 
 
 We are aware that in the pubKcation of such arguments 
 as those "Spectator" has given us in the following pages, 
 we array ourselves in opposition to a very powerful and pop- 
 ular combination of men. But if that combination in its 
 nature and tendencies is productive of evil — if in its opera- 
 tions, instead of promoting the general well-being of society, 
 it conflicts with the dearest interests of those who love truth 
 and right, the power and popularity of such combination 
 should not deter us for a moment from the most vigorous and 
 persevering opposition to it. Might does not make, right, 
 neither should popularity shield an evU institution from the 
 opposition it deserves. But is that institution popularly known 
 as Freemasonry an evil one? In this Christian land we 
 have an infallible rule by which to test the true character 
 of every institution that solicits the confidence and patronage 
 of men. That rule is The Bible. By this standard let Free- 
 masonry be judged. If it will bear the scrutiny of divine 
 light, opposition to it should cease ; but if not,- let it go to des- 
 truction and its interests perish. "Every plant,'' said Jesus, 
 ' 'that my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted 
 up." 
 
 From all we have been able to learn respecting the history, 
 nature and tendencies of Freemasonry, we are convinced that 
 as an mutitution it is well calculated to, and in most of its 
 
Operations does conflict with the interests of society at large, 
 and particularly of all that large class who are excluded by it 
 from its benefits. Freemasonry, therefore, we must hold to 
 be wrong in itseK, and its practical operations to be detri- 
 mental to the interests of aU not under its authority. 
 
 But it is when we come to compare the teachings of its 
 standard authors, and its practical operations as seen, with 
 the unerring instructions of the word of God, that the in- 
 iquity of Freemasonry is most clearly brought to light. 
 Such a comparison we have in the following Tract. By pre- 
 senting the truths of the gospel in gospel language and plac- 
 ing in juxtaposition the instructions of the lodge-room and the 
 interpretations of Masonic writers, the Author has very for^ 
 cibly shown the utter inconsistency and incompatibility of 
 the Christian reli^on and Freemasonry. For the considera- 
 tions here brought forward, we only ask a careful perusal and 
 the candid judgment of those into whose hands they may 
 fall. It is not because of any grudge we bear to the Order, 
 or any antipathy to any member of it, that we publish such 
 things to the world; but because we believe the system is 
 founded on entirely erroneous principles, calculated to work 
 evil instead of good in society, and because it is contrary to 
 the word of God. Rufus Johnson. 
 
 Midway, Ohio, September, 18711. 
 
FREEMASONRY CONTRARY 
 
 TO THE 
 
 CHRISTIAN RELIGION 
 
 The sacred Scriptures require us to "Prove all things and 
 hold fast that which is good." (1 Thess. v. 31.) In carrying 
 out this injunction I was led to investigate the history, princi- 
 ples and tendency of speculative Freemasonry; and after a 
 somewhat protracted examination of the subject, I finally came 
 to the conclusion that it is the most enormous system of hum- 
 buggery, delusion and blasphemy ever invented by the devil. 
 
 We have no record of any other system so well adapted to 
 impose on the credulity of mankind and lead them, down to 
 eternal ruin. It appears to be composed of lies from stem to 
 stern; it is founded in lies; its whole superstructure is lies; 
 and it is propagated by lies. Its boasted antiquity is all lies 
 from beginning to end. Not a trace of it can be found in the 
 Holy Scriptures ; not a trace of it in the Apocryphal writings, 
 nor in the Targum or Talmud or any other Rabbinical writings 
 of the Jews ; not a word about it in the writings of Josephus, 
 who, as a historian, was very minute in giving an exact account 
 of all the institutions, sects, and parties, whether civil or relig- 
 ious, in the Jowislunation. How did it happen that he never 
 wrote a word about Proemasonry ? Plainly because it did not 
 ozist in liis day. Freemasons tell us the institution existed in 
 the days of Solomon, and yet the words of Jesus (Matt. vii. 
 7) are* quoted in the first degree, and these words were not 
 uttered till 1,000 years after the death of Solomon. In the third 
 degree we hove the names of three rufBans, Jubela, Jubelo, 
 Jubelum; now these are Latin names, and we know there was 
 no Latin in Palestine in the days of Solomon. The language 
 used ty the Jews waa Hebrew. On a close investigation I found 
 
flfty^even. lies in the third degree alone, which I am prepared 
 to exhibit and prove if necessary. In the lecture on the fourth 
 degree we are told that that degree was founded by King Solo-' 
 mon, Hiram, King of Tyre, and Hiram Abiff. In this degree 
 quotations are made from the New Testament which clearly 
 shows the falsehood of the pretended antiquity of the degree. 
 The Jews were certainly wicked enough without saddling them 
 with the invention ot the infernal system of speculative Free- 
 masonry. It was invented by Gentiles in a grogshop in London, 
 June 24, 1717. I shall ?how that Freemasonry is as far from the 
 Christian religion as the North Pole is from the South, and that 
 the one can no more associate with the other than light and 
 darkness, or oil with water. 
 
 1. The doctrines and principles of the Christian religion 
 are to be proclaimed openly and publiely to all the world. Under 
 the Jewish dispensation the Divine Being said "I have not 
 spoken in teoret from the beginning." (Is. xliii. 16.) Our bless- 
 ed Savior said, "I spake openly to the world *■* * and t'» 
 searet have I said nothing." (John xviii. 30.) And when he 
 sent out his apostles to establish the Christian church he said, 
 "Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every crea- 
 ture.'' (Mark xvi. 15.) It may be confidently affirmed th»t 
 God never requires anything to be kept secret that emanates 
 from him. 
 
 Freemasons, on the contrary, are sworn to c<mc«a2 their prin- 
 ciples from a very large majority of the human race. The En- 
 tered Apprentice,, stripped all but his shirt and a psiir of 
 drawers, blindfolded, with a rope around his neck, on his. leift 
 knee, with the left hand under the Holy Bible, square and com- 
 pass, and his right hand on the top of them, says, "I most soU 
 emnly and sincerely promise and swear, that I will always 
 hail, ever conceal, and never reveal, any part or parts, art or 
 arts, point or points of secrets, arts and mysteries of aneigst 
 Freemasonry, which I have received, am about to receive, fs 
 may hereafter be instructed in, * • * binding myself under 
 no less penalty than to have my throat cut across, my tongue 
 torn out by the roots," etc. The penalties annexed to the bighw 
 degrees are equally ferocious and barbarous. Among tht^S 4S; 
 nied the benefits ( ?) of Freemasonry are, boys under sge, ftU 
 woman, old men, cripples, etc. On a moderate caleulatiOA 
 nine-tenths of the human family are absolutely excluded from 
 the institution of Freemasonry. The very fact that aecreej/ is 
 
essential to its existence le prima facie eHAeate ot itH diabolical 
 origin. 
 
 2. The Cihristian religion discards and rejects all use of 
 the siBord, as being inimical to the principles, object, nature 
 and design of the Christian system. In the millennium^ and 
 when the kingdom of Christ is fully established, "the people 
 shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into, 
 pruning hooks ; nation shall not lift up the sword against na- 
 tion, neither shall they learn war any more." (Isa. ii. 4.) All 
 use of the sword is excluded from the kingdom of Christ. 
 (Matt. xxvi. 53.) 
 
 Freemasons, on the contrary, use the sword as an essential 
 element in their institution. We see it naked in the hand of 
 the tyler at the door of every lodge room. It is exhibited in all 
 their public processions; in their laying the corner-stone of 
 public buildings, etc. The Knights Templars kneeling on two 
 cross-swords with their hands on the Bible on which two cross- 
 swords are laid, " Promise and swear to use their sword " in 
 defense of the Christian religion. Poor, deluded fanatics ! — 
 binding themselves with a barbarous oath to use the armor of 
 Satan in defense of the religion of Christ, not knowing that 
 Christ rejects both their oath and their sword. Should they 
 fail to fulfil their oath, they forfeit their lives. The penalty is 
 to have the head struck oflf and placed on the highest spire in 
 Christendom ! 
 
 3. The Christian religion positively forbids all swearing 
 [except as prescribed by law. — Pcb.] The great Head of the 
 Church has Said, " Swear not at all; neither by heaven, for it is 
 Qod's throne ; nor by the earth, fpr it is his footstool ; neither 
 by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. Neither shalt 
 thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair 
 white or black." (Matt. v. 34-36. The apostle James says 
 "Above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven 
 neither by the earth, neither by any other oath." J as. v. 13. 
 
 Freemasons, on the contrary, have their whole system in- 
 terlarded with oaths of the most ferocious and profane descrip- 
 tion. They are interposed between each degree, and operate as 
 cement to hold the heterogeneous mass together. A greater 
 mixture of discordant elements perhaps never met in one mass. 
 It includes the follies of heathendom, the ceremonies of Juda- 
 1851 — long since set aside by the light of divine revelation — per- 
 TWted and misapplied quotations from the Scriptures, vain, 
 
empty, high-sounding titles and abject servility by the m^ority 
 to the minority. 
 
 If the outlandish oaths that now sefve to hold these dis- 
 cordant materials together as with a band of iron and brass 
 were dispensed with, the whole system would go to fragments 
 in a short time. Tbe Entered Apprentice, in direct violation of 
 the command of Christ, on his knees, with his hand on the 
 Bible, says, "I promise and swear," three times; the Fellow 
 Craft, in a similar plight, says, "I promise and swear," six 
 times; the Master Mason says, "I promise and swear," seven- 
 teen times; the Mark Master, seven times; the Past Master, 
 eleven times ; the Most Excellent Master, seven times ; the Roy- 
 al Arch Mason, seventeen times. The Royal Arch Mason, count- 
 ing all the lower degrees through which he has passed, has said 
 in the presence of Almighty God, " I promise and swear," six- 
 ty-eight times ; the Most Excellent Master, fifty-one times ; the 
 Past Master, forty-four times; the Mark Master, thirty -three 
 times; the Master Mason, twenty-six times; the Fellow Craft, 
 nine times. When the circumstances under which these oaths 
 axe taken are considered, including a rope round the neck, eyes 
 bandaged, partial nudity, encircled with drawn swords, they 
 must be shocking to humanity; and when their elementary 
 principles are examined, they will be found to be contrary to 
 the laws of Ood and man, and admirably adapted to overthrow 
 all civil government and undermine the foundation of the 
 Church of Christ. ■ 
 
 4. The Christian religion considers ail men as brethren, in 
 subjection to one supreme head, which is Jesus Christ. "Be 
 not ye called Rabbi (Master), tor one is your Master, even Christ; 
 and all ye are brethren." (Matt, xxiii. 8-10.) Christ on one 
 occasion said, " Ye call me Master and Lord ; and ye say well, 
 for so I am." (John xiii. 13.) "For to this end Christ both 
 died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the 
 dead and living." (Rom. xiv. 9.) Christ is the head of the 
 Church, which is his figurative body, and believers are members 
 of his body in subjectionto him. He has the exclusive com- 
 mand and control over all his servants. If other lords have 
 the command or dominion over them, in whole or in part or 
 degree, they are none of his." (See Eph. i. 33, — iv. 15, Col. i. 
 18, ii. 19.) 
 
 Freemasons, on the contrary, and in direct violation of the 
 alcove command, call one another ".Master," "Grand Mastw," 
 
„Most Excellent Master," "Worshipful Master," "Perfect 
 Master," " Royal Master," "Prince of Mercy," "Chief Prince," 
 "High Priest," "Grand Pontiff," " King," : "Captain of the 
 Host," "Most Puissant," " Sovereign of Sovereigns," &c. Sev- 
 eral of these titles belong exclusively to Christ, and cannot be 
 assumed by sinful mortals, without a degree of pride, insolence 
 and blaspheimy imsurpassed in magnitude this side the gates of 
 the lower regions. 
 
 5. The Christian religion commands and requires all 
 Christians to come out from a/mong the wicked of the world and be 
 separate. This duty is taught everyTvhere in the Scriptures. 
 " Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the un- 
 godly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the 
 seat of the scornful." (Ps. i. 1.) The Psalmist again says in 
 Psalm xxvi. 4, 5, " I have not sat with vain persons, neither will 
 I go in with dissemblers. I have hated the congregation of evil 
 doers, and will not sit with the wicked." " Forsake the foolish 
 and live." Prov. ix. 6. " Flee out of the midst of Babylon 
 and deliver every man his soul." Jer. ii. 6. "A companion 
 of fools shall be destroyed." Prov. xiii. 20. "Wherefore 
 come out from among them and be ye separate, saith the Lord, 
 and touch not the unclean thing, and I will receive you." II. 
 Cor. vi. 14. "Come out of her, my people, that ye be not par- 
 takers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. Rev. 
 xviii. 4. This is all very plain. 
 
 Freemasons, on the contrary, iinite with and fraternize all 
 sorts of characters to be found this side the gates of the infern- 
 al regions. The world knows that a very large portion of the 
 Masonic brotherhood is composed of liars, robbers, drunkards, 
 swearers, thieves, swindlers, blasphemers, fornicators, adulter- 
 ers, cutthroats, perjured persons by the thousand, Jews, Pagans, 
 Mohammedans, barbarians, traitors, infidels, apostate Christian, 
 rascals. Deists without number, gamblers, loafers, and murder- 
 ers by th". hundred. Let us hear, however, what Masons them- 
 selves have to say on the subject, as their testimony must be 
 unquestionable. One Mason says, " The lodge is a cage of un- 
 clean birds." Another says, " It is a house of refuge for rascals 
 and backslidden Christians." Another, "We know Masons 
 whom we would not believe, in the lodge or out of it, under 
 oath or without an oath." Another, "A Masonic lodge is the 
 strangest medley of priests and murderers, deacons and whore- 
 masters, church members and gamblers, decent men and loaf- 
 
10 
 
 ers, drunkard^ and rowdieii that the All-Seeing By^ looks down 
 upon." Jud^e Whitney, Worshipful Master 6^ Belvidere 
 Lodge, HI., SayS ; " I find myself associated, as & Mason, with 
 drunkards, blackguards, loafers, gamblers, whpremasters and 
 murderers, and theif aiders, abettors and accessories." What 
 a society for the minister of the gospel to unite -with and prom- 
 ise, on oath, to defend in all their criminal conduct, as eveiy 
 Royal Arch Mason does ! 
 
 6. The Christian religion requires us to take the holy Serip- 
 tures Kilime, as the rule of awr faith and morals. "All Scripture,'" 
 says the great apostle of the Gentiles, "by divine direction, " Is 
 given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for 
 reproof, for correction, for instruction inrighteousnebB.thatthe 
 man of God may be perfect, and thoroughly furnished unto aU 
 good works." 3 Tim. iii. 16, 17. " The law of the Lord is 
 perfect, converting the soul." Ps. xix. 7. "We have a njore 
 sure word of prophecy, whereiinto ye do well to take heed." 
 3 Pet. i. 19. " To the law and to the testimony; if they speak 
 not according to this word, it is because there is no light in 
 them." Is. viii. 30. No man has any liberty to add anything 
 to the Holy Scriptures or take anything from them. "Ye shall 
 not add linto the word which I command you, neither shall j^e 
 diminish aught from it." Deul. iv. 3. For I testify unto ev6ry 
 man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, [that] 
 if any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him 
 the plagues that are written in this book ; and if any man shall 
 take away from the wol-ds of the book of this prophecy, God 
 shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the 
 holy city, and from the things that are written in this book. 
 Rev. xxii. 18, 19. 
 
 Freemasons, on the contrary, take the mallet, square and 
 compass as a rule of their life, which may mean anything or 
 nothing, as caprice or fantastic humor may dictate. In the lee, 
 ture on the first degree we are told that by due attention to the 
 compass we are taught to limit our desires, curb our ambition, 
 subdue our Irregular appetites and keep our passions and prej- 
 udices In due bounds with all mankind, especially with the 
 brethren. Again in Sickles' Monitor, page 83, we are told that 
 the square is to square our actions, and the compass to circuni- 
 scribe our desires, and kpep our passions in due bounds with 
 all mankind, especially with the brethren. In the Entered Ap- 
 prentice degree we are told that Freemasons use the gavel br 
 
11 
 
 mallet for the more noble and glorious purpose of divesting 
 their hearts and consciences of all the vices and superfluities 
 of life, thereby fitting their minds as lively stones for that spir- 
 itual building, that house not made with hands, eternal in the 
 .'heavens. If this is not a formal rejection of the word of God 
 as a rule of life, I know not what is. If it is not, it is an addi- 
 tion to it, which is equally criminal. The word of God accom- 
 panied by the agency of the Holy Spirit, is the only means ap- 
 pointed in the Divine government to subdue and root out the 
 vile affections of the human heart; and if these means are 
 rejected it is absolutely certain that no means devised by man 
 can accomplish the object. All Freemasons who rely on the 
 inallet, square and compass to subdue their vile affections, are 
 under the most consummate delusion of the devil. 
 '-- 7. The Christian religion teaches us to show benevolence 
 and kindness to all mankind, but more particularly to true 
 Ohrlstians, because Christ takes whatever is done to them as 
 baing done to himself. See Matt. xxv. 35-40. The apostle 
 Paul says, "As we have, therefore, opportunity, let us do good 
 unto all men, especially to them who are of the household of 
 faith." Gal. vi. 10. 
 
 Freemasons, on the contrary, act, as such, entirely on selfish 
 principles. The system is founded on selfish and exclusive 
 principles, and its object is to take undue advantage of all out- 
 side its pale, and swindle them out of their rights so far as can 
 be donfe with the safety of the members of the institution. In 
 the third obligation of the Knights of the Cross the candidate 
 uses the following language : " I swear to advance my brother's 
 best interest by always supporting his military fame and politi- 
 cal preierment in opposition to another." The preference is 
 given, not to the household of faith, but to the members of the 
 lodge, who 'may be, and frequently are, liars, thieves and ruffians 
 of the worst- description. There is no restriction imposed on a 
 Mason in robbing and swindling, providing he does not cheat 
 a Mason or a Masonic lodge. There is no restriction in forni- 
 cation and adultery, provided he does not violate the chastity of 
 a Master Mason's wife, mother, sister or daughter, he knowing 
 them to be such. These are all the exceptions ; all the world 
 besides is clear game. 
 
 8. The Christian religion requires us to forgioe ow enemies 
 and treat them well. "If thine enemy be hungry, give him 
 bread to eat; if he be thirsty, give him water to drink. Prov. 
 
18 
 
 XXV. 81, _ Again, "If thine enemy hunger, feed him; if .Be 
 thirgt,.give him drink-" Bom. xii. 20. The Great Head of the 
 Chureh.has,89i,d, "I say unto you, love your enemies, bless them 
 that curse you." Matt. y. 44. ''For if ye fofgive men their 
 trespasses, your heavenly father will also forgive you. But if 
 ye forgive men not their trespasses, neither will your Father 
 fojrgive you." Matt. vi. 14, 15. This is so plain that all can un- 
 derstand it. 
 
 Freemasons, on the, contrary, ;neie ovi vetigecmceto ttiBii ene- 
 mies. In the first obligation of the Thrice Illustrious Knights 
 of the Cross, the candidate, under oath, receives the. following 
 injunction: "To the end of your life you win use your utmost 
 decided endeavors to bring such person to the strictest and most 
 condign punishment, agreeably to the usages of our most ancient 
 fraternity, and this by pointing him out to the world as an un- 
 worthy; vagabond, by opposing his interests, by deranging his 
 business, by transferin^ his character after him wherever he 
 may go, and by exposing him to the contempt of the whole 
 fraternity and of the world, during the whole of his natural 
 life." In the. third obligation of the same, the candidate says: 
 "I swear t<i look on his [a brother Mason's] enemies as my ene- 
 mies,- his frfepds as my friends, and stand forth to mete out ten- 
 der kindness or «ere^ea»(!fi accordingly." 
 
 9. The Christian religion requires us to abstain from taking 
 hwman life. The divine coriimand is,. •' Thou shalt not kill." Ex. 
 XX. 13. "Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood 
 be shed." Gen. ix. 6. " He that killeth a man shall surely be 
 put to death." Lev. xxiv. 17. These scriptures need no com- 
 ment. 
 
 Freemasons, on the contrary, are governed by laws that 
 require the takijig of human life. This is universally confessed 
 by all seceding Masons. In the initiation of a candidate as an 
 Elected Knight of Nine, he goeS; through the form qf murdering 
 a traitor, and swears, "I will revenge the assassination ot our 
 ■worthy Master, Hiram Abiflf, not only on the murderers, but also, 
 on all who may betray the secrets of this degree," etc. In the 
 degree of Knights Adepts of the Eagle and Sun, there is an ex- 
 position of Masonic emblems. One of these emblems is that 
 of a man peeping, of which the exposition is this : " The man 
 peeping, and who was discovered, and seized, and conducted to. 
 death, is an emblem of those who come to be initiated into^ai^ 
 secret mysteries through a motive of curiosity, and if so indis- 
 
18 
 
 creet as to divulge their obligations, -we are bourn to eau»» iheir 
 death, and take vengeance on the treason by the deitruction of 
 the traitor." • • • • In pursuance of these diabolical prin- 
 ciples, many worthy men have been assassinated ; among •whom 
 were the author of a book called " Three Distinct Knocks ;" 
 and the author of a book called " Jachin and Boaz," in Eng- 
 land ; William Miller, of Belfast, Ireland, for saying Jachin and 
 Boaz was a true book ; Smith, of Vermont, who re-published 
 Jachin and Boaz ; William llorgan, of Batavia, N. T., who dis- 
 closed the first three degrees of Masonry ; Murdoch, of Eens- 
 selearville, N. T., who was supposed to have revealed something 
 of Masonry; and one Forgie, an Irishman, in a lodge in Cana^ 
 da. • • • • How many more have been hurried into eternity 
 by Masonic executions will remain unknown till the day of 
 judgment. 
 
 10. The Christian religion teaches us that there is no other 
 way to God the Father, but Jesus Christ. "Jesus saith unto 
 him, I am the way, and the truth, and the life ; no man cometh 
 unto the Father, but by me." John xiv. 6. The apostle Peter, 
 when preaching Christ, said, " There is none other name under 
 heaven, given among men, whereby we must be saved." Acts 
 iv. 13. 
 
 Freemasons, on the contrary, approach God as the Great 
 Architect of the universe, without the intervention of any me- 
 dia,tor whatever. In this they err in two respects. First, they 
 offer an indignity to God bordering on blasphemy by applying 
 to him the term architect, which was never done by any of the 
 inspired writers, and which is the official name of a man who 
 lays down plans and directs workmen. Second, by approaching 
 God, without a mediator. - But this is not all. They teach that 
 all good Masons wbo will not disclose the secrets of the lodge, 
 will at last arrive at the Grand Lodge above, where God sits as 
 Grand Master. God never did and never will hear the prayer 
 of any man who rejects and despises the mediation of Christ; 
 consequently, Freemasons are under a delusion about the 
 "Grand Lodge" above. It is seriously to be feared that they 
 are in the broad road to the grand lodge &«20w, outside the gates 
 of the New Jerusalem. 
 
 11. The Christian religion teaches us to pray to Oocl the 
 Father in the name of Jesus Christ. Our blessed Saviour while 
 instructing his disciples said, "Ye have not chosen me, but I 
 have chosen you, that ye should go and bring fortU fruit, ah^' 
 
14 
 
 that your fruit should remain ; that whatsoever ye shall ask of 
 the Father in my name, he may give it you." John xv. 16. 
 Again, " Verily, verily I say unto you, -whatsoever ye shall ask 
 the Father, in my name, he -will give it you." John2vi.23. In 
 conformity with this teaching, a,ll Christian churches, so far as 
 my knowledge extends, pray to Q-bd the Father, in the name of 
 Christ. 
 
 Freemasons, on the contrary, carefully exclude Christ from 
 all their ceremonies. In the Eoyal Arch degree, the "High 
 Priest" while reading a portion of Scripture (3 Thess. iii. 6 — 
 18.) carefully omits the name of our blessed Savior. (See Sick- 
 el's Monitor, p. 50, Webbs Monitor, large edition, p. 120,Mack- 
 ey's Ritualist, p. 848.) The name of Christ is cautiously omitted 
 in the Masonic prayers in the secrecy of the lodge room aind in 
 their public assemblies. Should this be dotibted or denied, the 
 reader is referred to the Minutes of the Grand Lodge of the 
 State of Georgia for the year 1866, p. 248, where it will be seen 
 to be a regulation of the lodge that no Mason shall offend a 
 Jew, Mohainmedan or deist, by praying to God in the name of 
 Christ. The Master Mason, on his naked knees, with his two 
 hands on the Holy Bible, square and compass, says : " Further- 
 more do I promise and swear that I will support the constitu- 
 tion of the Grand Lodge of this State, and conform to all the 
 by-laws, rules and regulations of this or any other lodge of 
 which I may at any time hereafter become a member." One of 
 the rules is not to pray in the name of Christ. The Master Ma- 
 son swears to conform to all the rules ; consequently the minis- 
 ter of the Gospel who is a Mason, has either renounced Christ 
 as a Mediator with God, or he is perjured. He may take which 
 horn of the dilemma he pleases. 
 
 12. The Christian religion teaches us that Christ daimt, 
 requires and demands the entire, complete and uninterrupted alleg- 
 iance, Twmage and service of the whole human race. This he de- 
 mands on two grounds. First, that he, as God, is their Creator, 
 and they his creatures in absolute dependence on him. Second, 
 on the ground that he assumed human nature and laid down 
 his life on the cross as a ransom for them. His claim is, there, 
 fore, in strict accordance with unsophisticated reason and the 
 eternal principles of justice. In perfect harmony with this the 
 apostle Paul sayS: "Ye are'not your own, for ye are bought 
 with a price; "therefore glorify God in your body and in your 
 spirit which are his." 1 Cor. vi. 20. 
 
IS 
 
 Freemasons, on the contrary, r^ect. Amy and repudiate all 
 aUegiance, homage and service as being Sue to Christ. All those 
 oaths taken by them of absolute and unlimited obedience to 
 unknown laws, powers and authorities, imply and include a 
 rejection of Oirist as their rightful sovereign and lawgiver. 
 All those penalties that include the destruction of human life ; 
 such as to have the throat cut across, the tongue torn out by the 
 roots, the left breast opened, the heart and vitals taken out and 
 thrown over the left shoulder, the body severed in two, and 
 divided to the north and south, the bowels burned to ashes and 
 scattered to the four winds of heaven. All such penalties, I 
 say, in their very nature, discard, reject and repudiate the legal 
 authority and jurisdiction of Christ. Consequently, every man 
 who has taken Hasonic oaths, has renounced his allegiance to 
 Christ as the Sovereign of the universe. Head and Lawgiver of 
 the church. This is so plain that every man who will not suffer 
 his eyes to be blinded by the smoke of the bottomless pit, must 
 see it. If Christ is our rightful sovereign, as he most assuredly 
 is, and our entire service is due tohim,can we, without the high- 
 est degree of criminality and treason, swear obedience to anoth- 
 er master ? Can we serve two masters at the same time ? If our 
 lifo belongs to Christ, and is not our own, what right have we 
 to put it in jeopardy, or place it on a contingency? In other 
 words, what right have we to dispose of what is not our own ? 
 The rejection of Christ is more clearly expressed in the Order 
 of the Cross. The candidate says, " I swear forever to give my- 
 self to this holy and illustrious Order," etc. It legitimately 
 follows that Freemasonry is an invention of the devil, designed 
 to undermine the Christian church and usurp its place, and by 
 this means bring innumerable millions of the human race down 
 to the dark regions of perdition. 
 
 Atlanta, Oa. 
 
ARE 
 
 MASONIC OATHS 
 
 Binding on the Initiate? 
 
 FSOOF OF THE SIITFULNES3 OF SUCH OATHS AND TEB 
 
 CONSEaUKirT SUTT OF ALL TO EBEAE OFF 
 
 THEIB SINS B7 KIGHTE0USNES3. 
 
 By Rev. A. L. POST 
 
 >■ <»» ■» 
 
 CHICAGO, ILLINOIS: 
 
 EZRA A. COOK, PUBLISHER. 
 
1CA.S01TZC OATBS. 
 
 By A. L. POST. 
 — ^ ^ < » 
 
 Questions: 1st. By what authority does the 
 Masonic lodge administer its oaths and ceremonies to 
 the candidate?" 
 
 2d. Is there any validity or binding force in those 
 oaths considering the circumstances under which they 
 are taken?" 
 
 The above, questions, propounded by my old Free 
 Mission Iriend, C. G. Coffin, and at his suggestion 
 turned over to me for an answer, have been carefully 
 considered and are answered as follows: 
 
 Masonic lodges have neither moral nor legal author- 
 ity for the administration of their oaths; and, there- 
 fore, those they do administer are iuvalid, and without 
 binding force, let the circumstances be what they may 
 — much less the circumstances being what they are. 
 
 In making good this answer it is deemed in place to 
 consider at some length: What oaths are; where the 
 authority to administer and enforce them rests; iind 
 their validity, or when they are or are not binding. 
 
 WHAT OATHS AKB. 
 
 The following authorities must settle this: 
 Webster defines "Oath" as follows: "A solemn 
 affirmation or declaration made with appeal to God for 
 the truth of what is affirmed. The appeal to God 
 in an oath implies that the person imprecates his ven- 
 geance and renounces his favor if the declaration is 
 false; or if the declaration is a promise the person 
 invokes the vengeance of God if he should fail to fulfill 
 it. A false oath is called perjury." 
 
 Foley in the second American edition of his Moral 
 Philosophy, page 116, writes as follows: "But whatever 
 be the form of the oath the signification is the same. 
 It is calling upon God to witness, i. e., to take notice 
 of what we say. And it is invoking his vengeance or 
 renouncing his favor, if what we say be false, or what 
 we promise be not performed. 
 
Francis TTaj/fewd. in Ids Moral Science (2nd edition, 
 page 217-218) says: "In taking an oath, besides incur- 
 ring the ordinary penalties incident to perjury, he who 
 swears, calls upon God to witness the truth of his as- 
 sertions, and also, either expressly or by implication, 
 invokes upon himself the judgments of God if he 
 speaks falsely." 
 
 Oaths as thus defined are of two kinds, (as further 
 discussed by Way land in his Moral Science, quoted, 
 pages 321-2), "Those which respect the past, assertar 
 tory; and those which respect the future, promissory." 
 
 "1. The oath respecting the past' js ' definite. A 
 transaction either took place or did not take place, $jid 
 we have or have not a knowledge respecting it. It is 
 therefore in our power to tell what we know, or to tell 
 what and in how much we do not know. This is the 
 proper occasion for an oath." 
 
 "2d. The oath respecting the future is of necessity 
 indefinite, as when we promise upon oath to discharge 
 to the best of our ability SL particular office. Thus the 
 parties may have Very different views of what is meant 
 by discharging an office according to the best of our 
 ability, or this obligation may conflict, with others, 
 such as domestic or personal obligations; and the in- 
 cumbent may not know even with the best intentions 
 which obligation ought to take the precedence, that is, 
 what is the best of his ability. Such being the case, 
 who that is aware of the frailty of human nature mil 
 dare to peril his eternal salvation upon the performance, 
 to the best of his ability, of any official duty? And if 
 these allowances be understood by both parties how 
 are they tobelimited, and if they be not limited what 
 is the value of an oath? Suchibeing the case, it is q.t 
 best doubtful whether promissory oaths of office ought 
 ever to be required. * * * Such an oath of office 
 upon reflection without such mental reservation, 
 must immediately convince him that the requirement 
 is nugatory; and if so that it must be injurious." 
 
 Wayland says further (p. 321) in relation tp i the 
 "Interpretation of Oath^, that "As oaths are iiupqised 
 
ioxthe safety of tlie party administering them, tliey 
 are to be interpreted as he understands them. The 
 person under oath has no right to make mental, reser- 
 vation but to declare the truth, precisely in the manner 
 that the truth,the whole truth and nothing but the truth 
 is expected of him. On no other principle would we 
 ever know what to believe or to expect from a witness." 
 In orler to get the full force of the meaning of oaths 
 the definition of perjury is added. This, as given by 
 Sir Edward Coke, in Blackstone, on Public W rongs, 
 is: "A. crime committed when a lawful oath is admin- 
 istered in some jiidicial proceeding to a person who 
 swears wilfully, absolutely, and falsely in a matter ma- 
 terial to the issue or point in question." "The law," 
 adds Blackstone, ' {in loco) "takes no notice of any per- 
 
 i'urj; but such as is committed in some court of justice 
 laving power to administer an oath, or before some 
 magistrate or proper officer invested with similar au- 
 thority, in some proceedings relative to a civil suit or a 
 criminal prosecution; for it esteems all other oaths un- 
 necessary at least, and therefore will not punish tbe 
 breach of them." 
 
 It is an easy matter to determine, from the authori- 
 ties cited, that oaths can embrace at least four impor- 
 tant and essential things: a promise; an invocation, 
 on the part of the persons taking them, of divine ven- 
 geance; the human penalty of perjury, in case of fail- 
 ure or falsity, and the right, on the part of its adminis- 
 trator to inflict the penalty. 
 
 ■WHBEB THE AUTHOEITY TO ADMHSTISTER AJSfD ENFOECB 
 THE OBLIGATION OF OATHS IS VESTED. 
 
 That such authority exists, by diviue appointment, 
 somewhere in man's organic relations will be conced- 
 ed, notwithstanding the weight of argument drawn 
 Jbyaclassof wise and good men from the Saviour's 
 "3weax not at all," to the contrary. That argument, if 
 deemed conclusive, would abrogate all oaths, including 
 Masonic, of course. But it is here not only admitted 
 |>at ajiso argued that the "Swear not at all,' in its di- 
 
vine interdiction, was limited in its application to man s 
 moral and religious, as distinguished from his civil re- 
 lations. Christ in separLting, as he evidently did, 
 church and state, left the prerogative of oaths with the 
 state where it properly belonged, even while the union 
 under the Old Dispensation existed. 
 
 The ground, then, is here taken that the state alone 
 as a divine ordination, has the i;ightful authority to ad- 
 minister and enforce the obligations of oaths. It is 
 believed that the argument fairly sustains it, notwith- 
 standing the mora general opinion of our ablest men 
 that the church is also vested with that authority. 
 
 First in point here is the argument which would 
 follow of right, on the part of the church, to dictate 
 belief and conduct. Granting the right to administer 
 and enforce the obligations of an oath, so far at lea^t, 
 as the oath goes, so far this right is established. The 
 understanding of the oath-administering power, , gov- 
 erning the interpretation, meaning and object of the 
 oath, as it does, there is no logical avoidance of this 
 conclusion. We have in that case, the Papal claim of 
 church rights established as against the Protestant 
 claim of the rights of individual conscience, and pri- 
 vate judgment? Is the Protestant battle of a thousand 
 years with its unnumbered martyrdoms thiis to prove 
 a failure? It must if the church has the right to re- 
 quire, administer, or interpret oaths and inflict penalties 
 for the violation of oaths. Can we admit that this 
 conclusion is j ust as well as a logical necessity ? If not, 
 as we surely do not, we must deny that the.church has 
 this authority vested in her. The logical necessity is 
 the reductio ad absttrdum— reduction to an absurdity, 
 at least in the minds of Protestants. The justness of 
 the conclusion is therefore substantially denied. The 
 church has not the right claimed for her. Soul liberty 
 has a reality as well as a name. Then again would follow 
 in sustaining the ground of church rights,the argument of 
 force; therightto arrest andexecute,by theuse of physical 
 force, proper penalties upon evil doer$, violators of just 
 
laws. His is an essential accompaniment of duly au- 
 thorized oaths. The right to administer an oath must 
 carry with it the right to use all necessary force to com- 
 pel the taking, and punish the breaking of it. 
 : It is clear, in the light of the New Testament, that the 
 state (civil government) is divinely endowed with this 
 element of power. It may enforce the right and pun- 
 ish the wrong, in the civil relations of men. To say the 
 least the Saviour's life and teachings were consistent 
 with this view . There can be no rational doubt that the 
 Apostle Paul taught this in such passages of his epistle 
 as "Rulers are not a terror to good works but to the 
 evil," that civil magistrates" bear not the sword in vain," 
 the minister of justice is "the minister of God, a reveng- 
 er to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil," and 
 many others that might be quoted. All human gov- 
 ernments claim and exercise this right, and recognize it 
 in no other organic relations of this life. Appointing 
 administrators of oaths assumes that no others have the 
 right to administer them. The same cannot be truly 
 said of the church. In the light of the New Testamentit 
 cannot in truth be said that the Christian churches have 
 this divine endowment, in the present spiritual dispen- 
 sation of grace. '"If," says Christ, "my kingdom, Lthe 
 Spirit reign] were of this world, [this dispensation] 
 then would niy servants fight," — use force, take the 
 sword, and battle for the right. This meets the case 
 with denial of ecclesiastical right to use the force which 
 belongs to the governments of the world. The creation 
 and enforcement of human or divine penalties are for- 
 eign to the Gospel dispensatio a, to man in his ecclesi- 
 astical relations to his fellow, and in his spiritual rela- 
 tions to God. From this fact the logic of the anti- 
 Christ, evidently, deduced the necessity of a church and 
 state union. The church as a dominant or subservient 
 power, no matter which, must have the aid of physical 
 state force, in order to its predicted conquests. Heresy 
 must be punished, and religion, if needs be, be propa- 
 gated with the sword. This is the Jesuitism of Pat 
 
s 
 
 pacy, and the Knight Templaxism of Masonry, but n»t 
 
 Christianity during its church dispensation. 
 
 but Tie are told that Protestants as well as Papists 
 have their sacraments, -which is but the Latin for oaths. 
 Two and in many cases three of the seven sacraments 
 claimed by Roman Catholics are also claimed by 
 Protectant churches: baptism, the Lord's Supper, 
 and marriage are called sacraments. This, however, 
 is a misnomer, in that they lack some of the most im- 
 portant elements of an oath. They embrace the most 
 solemn of promises but no invocation of human or di- 
 vine penalties, and no authority on the part of the 
 churches to enforce them. The two former are simply 
 ordinances confessing and eulogizing, very expressively, 
 Jesus Christ as the only Lord and Saviour of men. As 
 a civil institution marriage obligations have more the 
 nature of oaths, and perhaps should be enforced with 
 the penalty which the law attaches to perjury, but they 
 are not. It follows that in the eye of the law, those 
 obligations are not oaths. 
 
 In reply to all this it is said that the churches do ex- 
 ercise penal authority in the way of rebuke, suspension 
 and expulsion. But it is denied that these are penal- 
 ties. They are simply measures of discipline. Expul- 
 sion, the most doubtful of the three, may be the casting 
 of the sinning one into the hands of "Satan for the 
 destruction of the flesh, that he may be saved in the day 
 of the Lord Jesus." Paul is good authority for this. 
 But why, asks the objector, argue so strenuously against 
 ecclesiastical oaths? Because, the answer is, an ignor- 
 ed truth requires it; and because, what may be termed 
 special policy requires it. Surely if such oaths are al- 
 lowed, Masonry will take advantage of them. What 
 Papacy does in claiming and exercising the power of 
 ecclesiastical oaths, her young sister, perhaps it should 
 be said daughter, Masonry, will do when the oppor- 
 tune time comes. On the proper claim, that she is an 
 organized religion, she may claim that she is a church, 
 possessiQg church prerogatives. The "good enough 
 
relieion" will be dieemed potent enpugli to impose and 
 enforce oaths, no matter how cut-throat, disemboweling, 
 or abhorent to Christianity they may be. The family 
 quarrel between these homogeneous powers, in the 
 policy of the anti-Christ will be made up in time for 
 the coming, if not already begun, Armageddon war. 
 The example of Christ's churches should furnish them 
 no aid. The consciences of men must be free from the 
 trammels of all extra-judicial oaths, especially the hor- 
 rible oaths of Masonry. So true policy, as well as right, 
 calls for the argument against ecclesiastical oaths. The 
 invalidity of church and Masonic oaths is established 
 by the same argument. 
 
 In concluding upon the point of exclusive state 
 right to administer and enforce oaths, let us suppose 
 nn illustrative case, based on the exercise of a church 
 or lodge right to do the same thing: 
 
 A person has taken and violated the church or lodge 
 oath. He has been tried, convicted of perjury, and is 
 called upon to submit to the penalty. He refuses, and 
 appeals to the state for protection. The state, true to 
 itself, protects him. Its judiciary pronounces the oath 
 to be extra-judicial, and therefore null and void. Its 
 executive arm is raised and woe to the church or lodge 
 that inflicts harm upon his person, property or reputa- 
 tion. Now how is this? Must we conclude that two 
 divine rights are really in conflict? Certainly not. 
 Rights never conflict. As to the church and state both 
 being of divine ordination, they must have rights, but 
 the/ may not conflict. In the case supposed, the state 
 has exercised its legitimate right against wrong. Nei- 
 ther Masonry, which has neither divine origin nor 
 rights, nor the church, which has both, may interfere 
 with the legitimate powers of civil government. It is 
 plain that the state, having the oath prerogative in full 
 gnly, has the right to exercise it. It is enough that 
 the things of Caesar be rendered to Caesar, and the 
 things of God be rendered to God. 
 
10 
 
 THE VAIIBITT OP OATHS. 
 
 As to the Talidity of oaths, or when they are or are 
 not binding in the general, little need be said. The 
 commonest intellect can hardly fail to see that in order 
 to their validity, they must be administered by persons 
 duly authorized to administer them, and to persons 
 competent, mentally and morally, and having the right 
 to take them. Beyond this, what Mr. Paley in his "Mom 
 al Philosophy" says of oaths that are not binding, must 
 suffice. He says (M. Ph. p. 83)— "Oatbs are not bind- 
 ing when promises would not be." "A promise is not 
 binding: 1st, Where the performance is impossible; 2nd, 
 Where the performance is unlawful; 3rd, When they 
 contradict a former promise; 4th, Where there is an 
 error proceeding from the mistake or the misrepresen- 
 tation of the promisee.'.' In the light of these consider- 
 ations and qualifications it may not be difficult to de- 
 cide as to the validity or binding force of Masonic oaths. 
 
 We will look at them briefly in their order. 
 
 1. Every Mason, who reflects, must know that, as a 
 general thing if he gives to the oaths he is obliged 
 to take anything like a strict construction, the per- 
 formance of its promise would be impossible. There 
 can be no rational doubt on this point if he gives such 
 construction in the light of the definition of promissory 
 oaths taken from Wayland's Moral Science. 
 
 Then again, the promise to perform the oath as un- 
 derstood by the promisee, Masonry.instead of the prom- 
 isor, the person taking the oath, must necessarily in- 
 volve unnumbered impossibilities. Saying nothing, 
 therefore, of the moral impossibilities of the case, nor 
 of the fact that the oath is unauthorized, Masonic oaths 
 require impossibilities, and therefore are not binding. 
 
 2 The performance of the Masonic oath is unlawful; 
 not simply because the oath is unlawful, extra-judicial, 
 but because it promises to infiict unlawful penalties. 
 Every Masonic oath is of this kind. This will be seen 
 in a few examples: 
 
11 
 
 The oath of the Knight Templar requires the illus- 
 trious Knight to swear that should he ever know a. 
 companion to violate any essential part of his obliga- 
 tion he will use his most "decided endeavor" to bring 
 such persons to the strict and most condign punish- 
 ment agreeable to the rules and usages of our ancient 
 fraternity; and this by pointing him out to the world 
 as an unworthy and vicious vagabond, by opposing his 
 interests, by deranging his business, by transferringhis 
 character after him wherever he may go, by exposing 
 him to the contempt of the whole fraternity and the 
 world, but of our illustrious order more especially, dur- 
 ing his whole natural life;" all t)f which is unlawful as 
 well as maliciously immoral. 
 
 The penalties attached to the oaths of the three de- 
 grees of Blue Lodge Masonry are in point, and enough 
 to show their unlawfulness. 
 
 The Entered Apprentice swears, "Binding myself un- 
 der no less a penalty than having my throat cut across, 
 my tongue torn out by its 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." 
 
 The Fellow Craft swears, "Binding myself under no 
 less penalty than that of having my left breast torn 
 open, my heart plucked out and given as a prey to the 
 beasts of the field and the fowls of the air," or "my left 
 breast torn open, my heart plucked out and placed on 
 the highest pinnacle, there to be devoured by the vul- 
 tures of the air." 
 
 The Master Mason swears, "Binding myself under 
 no less penalty than that of having my body severed in 
 twain in the midst, my bowels taken from thence and 
 burned to ashes and the ashes scattered to the four 
 winds of heaven, so that no more trace or remembrance 
 may be had of so vile and perjured a wretch as I should 
 be," &c. _ ' 
 
 3. Masonic oaths, in their promises as to future con- 
 duct "contradict" former promises," or which is the 
 same thing, prior obligations. 
 
12 
 
 According to the passage quoted from Wayland's 
 Moral Science on the "Interpretation of oaths," they 
 are imposed for the safety of the party administering 
 them, and "are to be interpreted as he (the administra,tor) 
 understands them. The person under oath has no right 
 to make mental reservation," etc. 
 
 Masonic oaths are of this character as to future con- 
 duct. The neophite, or person becoming a Mason, 
 swears to pursue a line of conduct prescribed by Ma- 
 sonry on the basis of Masonic knowledge and sense of 
 right, and not on his own knowledge and sense of 
 right. Here is a most palpable contradiction of 
 a former obligation. . It does not alter the wrong 
 that Masonry may require him to* do what is 
 right. He must know for himself the right in his 
 own judgment before he makes the promise. This no 
 person becoming a Mason can know, for Masonry is 
 sworn not to tell him. 
 
 One example of clear contradiction in the case of 
 every Christian who is made a Mason. On becoming a 
 Christian he made the most solemn and binding of prom- 
 ises to accept of Christ as his Saviour, and acknowl- 
 edge him in all things, especially in divine worship. la 
 becoming a Mason he finds himself required by an oath 
 to kneel at a Christless altar, and to worship a Christ- 
 less God. What shall he do? Shall he, hood-winked 
 and cable-towed submit to the authority of this oath? 
 Or shall he throw off these symbols of degradation and 
 stand to his prior Christian promise and obligation? 
 Which ? If the Masonic oath is binding he must submit. 
 But no, it is not. It violates or contradicts a former and 
 really Christian promise and obligation. 
 
 4. Masoni(j oaths are not binding by reason of the 
 "mistakes'' and misrepresentations of the promisee — Ma- 
 sonry, or the Masons who administer the oaths. These 
 are to be found at every step itora beginning to end of 
 Masonry. 
 
 Take for instance the assurance that is given to all 
 who take the oath, viz., "That there is nothing in Ma- 
 
13 
 
 sonry that will in any way conflict with his politics or 
 religion." 
 
 If he be a conscientious Christianman he will soon 
 find that either by mistakes or misrepresentations, he 
 has been deceived, both as to Masonic religion and Ma- 
 sonic politics, the one being anti-Christian, and the 
 other being anti-Republican. Wherever he finds him- 
 self lodged, from Entered Apprentice to Royal ArcH 
 degree, he finds Christ the only Saviour of lost men, 
 dislodged. He finds at every step oath piled upon oath 
 requiring him to prefer, in the very face of Scripture 
 commands to do specialgood "to the household of feith," 
 the infidel Mason in his benefactions to the Christian 
 non-Mason. Masons first in church and state is Ma- 
 sonic obligation, whatever be comes of Christianity or 
 republicanism. 
 
 Let these items of the RoyalArch oath witness 
 to this point: 
 
 "I furthermore promise and swear that I will employ 
 a companion Royal Arch Mason, in preference to any 
 other person of equal qualifications." 
 
 "I furthermore promise and swear that I will assist a 
 companion Royal Arch M«son when I see him en- 
 gaged in any difficulty, and vrill espouse his cause so far 
 as to extricate him from the same, whether he be right 
 or wrong." 
 
 "Furthermore, do I promise and swear, that a com- 
 panion Royal Arch Mason's secrets given me in charge 
 as such, I knowing them to be such, shall remain as 
 secure and inviolable in my breast as his own, murder 
 and treason not excepted" or "without exception." 
 
 In the oath of the sixth or "Excellent Master," de- 
 gree, prior to this, ^^Murder and treason,''^ were exce^ 
 ted, at the option of the oath-taker, but as seen here 
 they are not. Masonic oaths are, therefore, invalid by 
 reason of '■'"mistakes" and "misrepresentations." Failing 
 then,as the promises contained in Masonic oaths in 
 all of the four particulars named evidently do, when 
 either one would invalidate them, and back of all, fail- 
 
14 
 
 ing as those oaths do of valid administration to persons 
 duly authorized to take them, the answer to the ques- 
 tion propounded at the beginning is submitted as made 
 good. Truly, Masonic oaths have no valid obligation 
 or binding force, human or divine, at any court, whether 
 of law or morals. No conscience ought to be troubled 
 or scrupulous about repudiating them at once and for- 
 ever everywhere. On the other hand the conscience of 
 every adhering Mason should be so oppressed with a 
 sense of guilt that he could not rest until the oath 
 and lodge are repudiated as inimical to Christianity 
 and republicanism. In all kindness so the writer of 
 this believes and expresses his convictions. 
 Montrose, Pa. A. L. Post. 
 
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 BY REV. JAMBS WILLIAMS. Presiding Blderof Dakota District North- 
 western Iowa Conference, M. E. Church,— a Seceding Master Mason. 
 Published at the special request of the nine clergymen of different denom- 
 inations, and others. 
 Single copy, lOcts. 
 
 SERMON ON MASONRY, 
 
 BY RBV W. P. M'NAEY, pastor United Presbyterian Church, Blooming- 
 ton, Ind. 
 This is a very clear, thorough, candid and remarkably concise Scriptural 
 argument on the character of Freemasonry. 
 Single copy, JO 05. 
 
 THIRTEEN REASONS, 
 
 WHY A CHRISTIAN SHOULD NOT BE A FREEMASON. By Rev. 
 Robert Armstrong. 
 The author states his reasons clearly and carefully, and any one of the thir- 
 teen reasons, if properly considered, will keep a Christian out of the lodge. 
 Single copy, $0 05. 
 
 FREEMASONRY A FOURFOLD CONSPIRACY, 
 
 ADDRESS OF PRES'T. J. BLANCHARD, before the Pittsburgh Oonret 
 tion. This is a most convincing argument against the lodge. 
 Single copy, $0 05. 
 
 GRAND LODGE MASONRY. 
 
 ITS RELATION TO CIVIL GOVERNMENT AND THE CHRISTIAN 
 RELIGION. By Pres't. J. Blanctaard, at the Monmouth Convention. 
 The unchristian anti-republican and despotic character of Freemasonry is 
 proved from the highest Masonic authorities. 
 Single copy, $0 05. 
 
 SERMON ON SECRETISM, 
 
 BY REV. R. THEO. CROSS, pastor Congregational Church, Hamilton, N.Y. 
 This 1b a very clear array of the objections to Masonry that are apparent 
 to all. 
 
 Single copy, $0 05. 
 
 EREEMASONRy CONTRARY TO THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 
 
 CLEAR, CUTTING ARGUMENT AGAINST THE LODGE, from a 
 
 Christian stand point. 
 
 Single copy, $0 05. 
 
 A 
 
B 
 
 JUDGE WHITNEY'S DEFENSE BEFORE THE GRAND LODGE OF ILLINOIS, 
 
 TDDGB DANIEL H. WHITNEY was Master of the Lodge when S. L. 
 U Keith, a member of his lodge, murdered Ellen Slade. Judge Whitney, by 
 attempting to bring Keith to justice, brought on himself the vengeance of ttie 
 Lodge, but he boldly replied to the charges against him, and afterwards re- 
 nounced Masonry. 
 Single copy, $0 15. 
 
 EEMINISCENCES OF MORGAN TIMES. 
 
 iT BLDBK DAVID BERNAED, Author of Bernard's Light on Masonry. 
 
 This is a thrilling narrative of the incidents connected with the Bevelation 
 of Freemasonry and the publication of his book, and shows the indisputable 
 fact that it is a reliable revelation of Freemasonry prepared by the highest 
 Masonic authorities. 
 Single Copy, $0 10. 
 
 MINUTES OP THE SYRACUSE CONVENTION, 
 
 CONTAINING ADDKESSES by Kev. B. T. Boberts, Chas. D. Greene, 
 Bsq., Prof. C. A. Blanchard, Rev. D. P. Rathbun, Rev. D. S. Caldwell, 
 Mrs. M. E.Gage, Elder J, R.Bairdandothers. Unpublished Reminiscences 
 of the Morgan Times, by Elder David Bernard; Recollections of the Morgan 
 Trials, as related by Victory Birdaeye, Esq., and presented by his daughter, 
 Mrs. C. B. Miller; Secretary's Report; Roll of Delegates; Songs of Mr. 6. W. 
 Clark; Paper by Enoch Honeywell; Constitution N. C, A. ; Reports of Com 
 mittees and a Report of the Political meeting. 
 Single copy, $0 35. 
 
 PROCEEDINGS OF PITTSBURGH CONVENTION 
 
 CONTAINING OFFICIAL REPORTS; Addresses by Rev. D. R. Kerr.D.D., 
 Rev. B. T. Roberts, Rev. G. T. R. Meiser, Prof. J. R. W. Sloane, D.D., 
 P»es't. J. Blanchard, Rev. A. M. Milligan, D.D., Rev. Woodruff Post, Rev. 
 Henry Cogswell, Prof . C. A. Blanchard and Rev. W E. Coquilette; also Re- 
 port of the Political Mass Convention, with Platform and Candidates for th» 
 Presidential Campaign of 1876. 
 Single Copy, $0 S5. 
 
 MASONRY A WORK OF DARKNESS, 
 
 ADVERSE TO CHRISTIANITY, AND INIMICAL TO A REPUBLICAN 
 GOVERNMENT. B^Eev. Lebbeus Armstrong (Presbyterian), a Seced- 
 ing Mason of 21 Degrees. 
 
 This is a very telling work and no honest man that reads it will think of 
 joining the lodge. 
 Single copy, $0 15. 
 
 HISTORY NAT'L CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION, 
 
 ITS origin, objects, what it has done and aims to do, and the best means to 
 accomplish the end sought ; the Articles of Incorporation, Constitution 
 and By-laws of the Association, Condition of the Carpenter Donation with 
 Engraving of building to be donated by Mr. Carpenter; Tables showing the 
 number of Pastors and commuuicants in churches, that exclude members of 
 Secret Societies, Tabular view of Local, County," State and National Conven- 
 tions, and list of organizations. Auxiliary to the National Christian Asssoci- 
 ation ; Brief opinions of Eminent men on Secret Societies, and Testimonies 
 of Religious Bodies against them. This book will be found invaluable by all 
 who wish to know the character of this reform and liow they may do the most 
 to further its object. It should be in the hands of every Anti-mason. 
 Single Copy, $0 S5. 
 
SECRET SOCIETIES ANCIENT AND MODERN 
 
 ANEW BOOK OP GBE>T INTEREST. This work is particularly com- 
 mended to the attention of Offioebs of thb Abht anb Navt, tbb 
 
 BSVCH AND THB ClEBOT, 
 
 TABLE OF CONTENTS: The Antlopity of Secret Societies; The Life of 
 Jnlian, The Eleuslnian Mysteries, The Origin of MasonryLWas Washington a 
 Mason? Fillmore and Webster's Deference to Masonry, A Brief Outline of th« 
 progress of -Masonry in the United States, The Tammany^ King, Masonic Be- 
 nevolence, The uses of Masonry, An Illustration, The Conclusion . 
 Single Copy, $0 50. , 
 
 HON. JOHN QUINCY ADAMS' LETTERS TO 
 
 pOL. WM. STONE, BDWAED LIVtNGSTONB, and others, on the nature 
 W of Masonic Oaths, Obligations and Penalties. 
 Single copy, $0 35. 
 
 COLLEGE SECRET SOCIETIES. 
 
 THEIE CUSTOMS, CHAEACTEK AND THE EPFOETS FOE THEIR 
 SUPPRESSION. By H. L. Kellogg. Containing the opinion of many 
 prominent College Presidents, and others, and a full account of the murder 
 of Mortimer Leggett. 
 Single copy, $0 2B. 
 
 HISTORY OF THE ABDDCTION AND MURDER OF CAPT, WM. MORGAN. 
 
 AS PEEPAEED BY SEVEN COMMITTEES OF CITIZENS, appointed 
 to ascertain the fate of Morgan. 
 This book contains indieputable, legal evidence that Freemasons abducted 
 and murdered Wm. Morgan, for no other oflfenae than the revelation of Ma- 
 sonry. It contains the sworn testimony of over twenty persons, including 
 Morgan's wife, and no candid person, after reading this book, can doubt that 
 many of the most respectable Freemasons in the Empire State, with othersi, 
 were concerned in this crime. 
 Single copy, $0 85. 
 
 THE MTSTIC TIE, OR FREEMASONRY A LEAGUE WITH THE DEYIL. 
 
 THIS IS AN ACCOUNT OF THE CHUECH TRIAL of peter Cook and 
 wife, of Elkhart, Indiana, for refusing to support a Eeverend Freemasooi 
 and their very able defense presented by Mrs. Lucia C. Cook, in which sb9 
 clearly shows that Freemasonry is antagonistic to the Christian Religion. 
 Single copy, $0 16. 
 
 YALANCE'S CONFESSION OF THE MURDER OE CAPT. WM, MORGAN. 
 
 THIS CONFESSION OF HENET L. VALANCE, one of the three Free 
 masons who drowned Morgan in the Niagara Elver, was taken from the 
 lips of the dying man by Dr. John C. Emery, of Racine County, WiaconMn, 
 in 1848. The Confession bears clear evidence of truthfulness. 
 Single copy, $0 10. 
 
 NARRATIVES AND ARGUMENTS, 
 
 CTHOWING THE CONFLICT OP SECRET SOCIETIES with the Constt- 
 D tutiou and Laws of the Union and of the States. By Francis Sample. 
 
 The fact that Secret Societies interfere with the execution and pervert ttie 
 administration of law is here clearly proved. 
 Single copy, $0 15. 
 
 THE ANTI-MASON'S SCRAP BOOK, 
 
 CONSISTING OF 31 CYNOSURE TRACTS. In this book are the views 0* 
 more than a score of men, many of them of distinguished ability, on a«e 
 subject of Secret Societies. - . ^ „ . ,_ 
 
 The dangerous 'tendency and positive evil of organized Secrecy is hem 
 shown by the mostvaried and powerful arguments and illustrations that haw 
 ever been given to the public. , ^ ^ , , . i..,, t a 
 
 Lecturers and others who wish to And the best arguments against the Lodge 
 should send for this book. ^ ^ . ^^ ,. ■_ ._ 
 
 Those who wish to circulate Antl-Masonlc Tracts ought to have the boot n 
 select from. 
 
 Single oopy,$oaO. — 
 
k 
 
 A' 
 I 
 
 B 
 
 GENERAL lASHlSGTON OPPOSED TO SECRET SOCIETIES. 
 
 This Is a republication of Governor Josepli Eitner's "Vindication of 
 General Waehington from the Stigma of adherence to Secret Soeietl^i" 
 commnnicated to the House of Eepresentatives of Pennsylvania, Marcli Stn, 
 1887, at their special reqnest. 
 
 To this is added the fact that three high masons were the only persons who 
 opposed a vote of thanks to Washington on his retirement to private life, 
 undoubtedly, because they considered him a Seceding Freemason. 
 Single copy lOcts. 
 
 PEES'T H. H. GEOEGE ON SECRET SOCIETIES, 
 
 POWERFUL ADDRESS, showing clearly the^Juty of Christian Chnreheti 
 to distellowship Secret Societies. 10 cts. each. 
 
 SERMON ON SECRET SOCIETIES, 
 
 BY REV. DANIEL DOW, Woodstock, Conn. The special object of this 
 Sermon is to show the right and duty of Christians to examine into the 
 h aracter of Secret Societies, no matter what object they profess to have. 
 Single copy, $0 05. 
 
 Peof.. J. G.CAKSON, D. D., ON SECRET SOCIETIES. 
 
 most convincing argument against fellowshiping Freemasons in the 
 .Christian Churan. 10 cts. each, 
 
 SECRECY c. s. THE FAMILY, STATE AND CHURCH 
 
 iT REV. M. S. DRURT. The antagonism of Organized Secrecy with the 
 welfare of the Family, State and Church is clearly shown. 10 cts . each . 
 
 Oaths and Fanalties of the 33 Degrees of Freemasonry- 
 
 rpo get these thirty-three degrees of Uasonic bondage, the Candidate takes 
 L half a million horrible Oaths, 
 io cents each. 
 
 ARE MASONIC OATHS BINDING ON THE INITIATE 
 
 BT REV. A. L. POST, Proof of the sinfulness of such Oaths and the 
 consequent duty of all who have taken them to openly Repudiate thent 
 Single copy 5 cents. 
 
 SECRET SOCIETIES. 
 
 A DISCUSSION OF THEIR CHARACTER AND CLAIMS. 
 
 BT REV. DAVID Mc DILL; PRES'T. J. BLANCHARD, and REV. 
 XDWARD BEECHER. Each of these able writers in clear forcible 
 language treato the subject in one or more of its varied phases. Rev. 
 David Mo Dill in Six Chapters treats of 1 "Their Antiquity."— 8 "Their 
 Secrecy."— 3 "Oaths and Promises,"— 4 "Profaneness."— 5 "Their Exclnsive- 
 ness." — 6 "False Claims." Prest. Blancbard bandies the topic: "Shall 
 Christians loin Secret Societies?" in a masterly way, showing clearly that 
 they are all opposed to the genius of Christianity; and Dr. Beecher closes 
 with his report on Secret Societies, which was adopted by the Congrega* 
 tional Association of Illinois at Ottawa In 1866. 
 Single Copy in Cloth, 35 cents. Single Copy, Paper Cover U cents. 
 
 ODD-FELLOWSHIP JUDGED. 
 
 bt its own tjttbkan'ces ; 
 Its Doctrine aio) Peaotich Examined in the Light of God's Woed. 
 
 BT BEV. J. H. BKOCKMAM. Tnls Is an exceedingly Inter.eatlng, clear dis- 
 cussion of the character of Oad-Pello-wshlp In the form ot a dialogue, 
 Single Copy, Paper Covers 25 cts. Per Doz, 13.00. Per 100$]0.00. 
 Single Copy In Cloth, 50 cts, Per Dozen, $4.00. Per 100 $25. CO. 
 German Edition entitled Christian and Ernst, paper covers 50 cents each. The 
 aerman Edition Is published by the author. 
 
OTHER ANTIMASONIC PUBLICATIONS. 
 
 Bernard's Light on Masonry and Odd-fellowship $1.B0 
 
 " " only (paper covers.) 75 
 
 Appendix to Bernard's Light on Masonry ib 
 
 Steam's Inanlry into Freemasonry, (Cloth) 60 
 
 " " " (paper covers,) 40 
 
 " Letters on Masonry 30 
 
 Steam's Review of two Masonic AddresBes 10 
 
 Freemasonry Self-condemned,|byRev. J. W. Bain 20 
 
 A Masonic Conspiracy, Sesnlting in s Frandnlent Divorce 20 
 
 •STANDARD* MASONIC BOOKS. 
 
 Morris's Dictionary of Freemasoiiry,. 3.00 
 
 Mackey'B Lexicon of Freemasonry 3.00 
 
 " Masonic Ritualist 1.25 
 
 *' Manual of the Lodge 2.00 
 
 " Text-Book of Masonic Jurisprudence 2.50 
 
 Webb^'B Monitor of Freemasonry Pocket Size .75 
 
 '* " Large Edition -• 1-50 
 
 Sickle's AkimanRezon and Freemasons Guide 2,00 
 
 " Monitor (Clotk) 100 
 
 (Tuck) l.BO 
 
 Chase's Digest of Masonic Law 2.35 
 
 Manual of The Eastern Star Degrees ( Womens) 1.00 
 
 Richardson's Monitor of Freemasonry, (Cloth) 1.25 
 
 (Paper) 75 
 
 Dnncan's Ritual and Monitor of Freemasonry 2.50 
 
 Allyu'e Ritual of Masonry 5.00 
 
 ♦The last three on this list though extensively used in the Lodge are not 
 publicly acknowledg^ed as Masonic Authority. 
 
LIBRARIES. 
 
 The entire list ol the publlcatlonB ol Ezia A. Cook, with the addition of 
 " Stearns' Inquiry Into rreemasonry, " has been arranged In 16 TOlumes, neatly 
 and suhstantlally bound in cloth. These are sold singly at the prices below, or 
 the entire library ol 5,10S pages ($14.00 worth at retail) is sent express or poat- 
 
 ^"au oJ these books have received tbe hearty endorsement ol the Directors ol 
 the National Christian Association. 
 
 No. Description, No, Pages. Price. 
 
 1 Freemasonry Illustrated, 7 Degrees 640 $1.00 
 
 2 Bituals of Odd-fellowBhlp, Knights of Pythias, Good Tem- 
 
 plarism. The Grange, Grand Army and Machinists 
 
 and Blacksmiths Union 428 1.00 
 
 5 The Broken Seal 304 1.00 
 
 4 Finney on. Masonry 273 75 
 
 B Eminent Men on Secret Societies ; Composed of "Washing- 
 ton Opposed to Secret Societies," ''Judge Whitney's 
 Defence," "The Mystic Tie," "Narratives and Argu- 
 ments," "The Anti-maeons Scrap Booli," and "Oaths 
 
 and Penalties of Freemasonry as proved in the New 
 ' Berlin Trials." 326 1.00 
 
 6 Morgana Masonic Bxposition, Abduction and Murder, 
 
 Oaths of 33 Degrees; composed of Freemasonry Ex- 
 posed," History of the Abduction and Murder of Mor- 
 gan," "Valance's Confession," "Bernard's Remenis- 
 cencea of Morgan Times," and "Oaths and Penalties of 
 SSDegrees." 304 1.00 
 
 7 Secret Societies Ancient and Modern and College Secret 
 
 Societies , 328 1.00 
 
 8 Sermons and Addresses on Secret Societies; composed of 
 
 "Masonry a Work of Darkness," and the Sermons 
 of Messcrs. Cross, Williams, McNary, Dow, Saryer; 
 the two addresses of Prest. Blanchard, the addresses 
 of Prest H. H. George, Prof. J. G. Carson, Rev. M 3. 
 Drury, "Thirteen Reasons why a Christian cannot be 
 a Freemason," "Freemasonry contrary to theChristiau 
 Religion," And "are Masonic Oaths Binding on the 
 
 Initiate?" 287 1.00 
 
 9 History of the ITational Christian Association, and Min- 
 utes of the Syracuse and Pittsburgh Conventions 289 75 
 
 10 Hon. J. Q. AdamsLettersandAddressesonFreemasonry 332 1.00 
 
 11 Odd-fellowship Judged by its own Utterances 175 60 
 
 12 Secret Societies By Revs. McDill, Blanchard and Beecher. <ii 35 
 
 13 Knight Templarism Illustrated 341 1.00 
 
 14 Revised Odd-fellowship Illustrated 281 1.00 
 
 15 Rituals and Secrets Illustrated, composed of "Temple of 
 
 Honor I'hiBtrated," "Adoptive Masonry Illustrated," 
 "United Sons ol Industry Illustrated" and "Secret 
 
 Societies Illustrated " 356 1.00 
 
 •» **'"""^»' Innnirr into Preem»sonry 338 M 
 
:fois s^a. 11.^3 :n-T' 
 THE NATIONAL CHtliiiTiM.f ASSi>.....i 
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