LIBRARY 
 
 OF THE 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA. 
 
 01 FT OF 
 
 PACIFIC THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY. 
 
 Accession 8-4-614 Cla&s 
 
 TO THE LIBRARIAN: 
 
 This Anti-Secrecy Library is donated 
 by the National Christian Association, on the 
 assurance, given on the part of the College, 
 that the books should have a good position 
 and be accessible to the students. 
 
 If at any time changes should occur, so that 
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 ation, 221 West Madison Street, Chicago, 111., 
 that measures may be taken for their return. 
 
:PO:R 
 THE NATIONAL CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATfl* 
 
 ; Madiwtn St., 
 
ODDFELLOWSHIP. 
 
 ITS DOCTRINE AND PRACTICE EXAMINED 
 
 IN THE LIGHT OF 
 
 GOD'S WORD, 
 
 AND 
 
 JUDGED BY ITS OWN UTTERANCES. 
 
 From the Original German "Christian and Ernst 77 of 
 
 REV. J. H. BROCKMANN, 
 
 fastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Fort Atkinson, Wis. 
 
 CHICAGO, ILL. 
 EZRA A. COOK & CO., PUBLISHERS. 
 
 1878. 
 
 w 
 
 / 
 
5 
 
PREFACE, 
 
 " THE influence of the Free Mason Lodges upon State and 
 Religion, has been greater than the majority of the members have 
 known and their opponents have supposed," says Dr. Niedner in 
 his Church History, page 777. This judgment we transfer upon 
 the Odd Fellow lodges, and certainly with justice, as these two 
 bodies have one and the same doctrine, entirely the same princi- 
 ples. Great is the influence of the lodges, as far as we can 
 discern it, but who knows how far it extends in reality, as so 
 much of it is exercised wholly in secret? Many thousands are 
 yearly drawn into the net of the lodge, therein inflated "with 
 proper conceptions of their powers and capabilities," brought to 
 the conviction that they, without Christ, "are capable of doing 
 good/' are directed to place their reliance upon themselves and 
 the order, but estranged from the Church of God arid the blessed 
 Gospel. Who shall bear the blame? Certainly, for the most part, 
 those who are led astray, themselves; but not these alone. Prof. 
 Dr. Hengstenberg, in his book "Free Masonry and the Evan- 
 gelical Pastoral Office" I, page 56, says: " No small part of the 
 blame rests upon the Church and her Theology, which hitherto 
 have cared too little about penetrating into the nature of the 
 order, or portraying the same in a clear and convincing manner, 
 and proving its incompatibility with the word of God." Of these 
 many thousands, estranged from the Gospel by the influence of the 
 lodge, up to the present time, as experience proves, very few have 
 returned to the same. As, however, if they remain thug 
 
 J84614 
 
estranged from the Gospel, none of them can be saved, Lo Cer- 
 tainly demands that we should do everything in our power bota ^ 
 save those led astray, as well as to warn those standing in danger, 
 which is surely best done by examining the doctrine and principles 
 of the order in the light of God's word* This it is that has been 
 attempted in this pamphlet, whether successfully, those conversant 
 with the subject must determine. Every criticism dictated by 
 knowledge of the subject and kindly feeling, shall be thankfully 
 made use of. 
 
 In order to give an opportunity to test the doctrines of the 
 secret societies by the everlasting word of God, be this little book 
 recommended to all members and friends of the lodge, as well as 
 to ail antagonists of the same. 
 
 May the faithful God accompany it with his blessing ! 
 
 THE AUTHOR, 
 
 FORT ATKINSON, Wis., July, 1874. 
 
FIRST DIALOGUE. 
 
 Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits 
 whether they are of God. 1 John, 4:1. 
 
 Christian. I am very glad indeed to see you, Ernest, as I have 
 something I would like to speak to you about. You have resided 
 in this country longer than I, and are better acquainted with its 
 manners and customs. 
 
 Ernest. Well, what have you on your mind this evening, 
 Christian ? 
 
 Ch. I will tell you. I was in town to-day, where I met 
 Maurice. After conversing a while about the harvest, the price 
 of wheat, &c , he asked me if I did not feel inclined to join the 
 lodge. To my question, what kind of a lodge it was, he answered, 
 the Odd Fellows' Lodge. As I expressed my astonishment at the 
 name "Odd Fellows, " and showed no great desire to become 
 "odd," he said that was merely a name, and little or nothing 
 depended on it; we must look to the matter, and that was good. 
 He then extolled the lodge in the highest terms; praised, in his 
 loquacity, its endless benefactions, and added that the Lodge was 
 the dearest spot on earth to him, and so forth. Now I would beg 
 of you, if you are able, and know anything about it, to give me a 
 particular account of the lodge, whether it is really something 
 good or not. I have often heard about the Free Masons, that 
 they have a covenant with the devil. If this should prove some- 
 thing of that sort, I would never join it. 84614 
 
s 
 
 E. What did Maurice say was good in the lodge? 
 
 Oh. Alas, I cannot remember the half that he said; but, 
 among other things, he said that if I joined it and should be sick, 
 I would receive three or five dollars a week, I do not remember 
 exactly which; and I should also have night watchers, without 
 paying for them. 
 
 E. Is that all that he said? 
 
 Ch. He said, too, that all the members of the lodge were 
 moral men, and if everybody would join, the world would become 
 a Paradise; but the parsons kept the people in ignorance, that 
 they should not be enlightened. I believe he added something 
 about widows and orphans, funerals, &c but it is pretty much 
 mixed up in my head. I would like to have asked him some ques- 
 tions, but you know, with his extraordinary loquacity, one can 
 scarcely get in a word; besides, I had no time, and was thinking 
 that, perhaps, in our evening talks, when we smoke our pipes com- 
 fortably together, you could help me to an understanding of the 
 subject. 
 
 E. The good Maurice has given you too much to digest at 
 once, without considering that the portion we administer must be 
 adapted to the strength of the stomach. 
 
 Ch. I believe you are correct. If he had taken point by 
 point, listened to and answered my questions, the matter Would 
 have been much clearer to my mind. But be so kind, and inform 
 me, if you can, WHAT THE LODGE is, and WHAT is ITS AIM? 
 
 E. Very good; I will do so, and think I can, for I have been 
 a member these ten years. Therefore 
 
 Ch. What! you, too, an Odd Odd Odd Fellow? 
 
 E. Indeed I am, and think to remain one, for it is really 
 something good, excellent and noble. 
 
 Ch, This is indeed news to me ! You never told me anything 
 of it. 
 
 E. Well, I am very much opposed to taking any and every 
 
one into the lodge. We should first become acquainted with per- 
 sons. When we have learned to know a man's character, to be 
 moral and steadfast, then we can propose and accept him, but 
 no sooner. 
 
 Ch. Aha! Then you did not consider me to possess a morally 
 steadfast character, and that is the reason you never said anything 
 to me about it ! 
 
 E. Not for that reason. When you become acquainted with 
 the nature and principles of our order, you will surely not censure 
 me that I did not immediately on your arrival tell you all about 
 it and ask you to become a member. And this is what displeases 
 me in Brother Maurice, that he, without having any nearer ac- 
 quaintance with you, at once asked you to join. Another thing 
 that I dislike is, that lie talks immediately against the parsons. 
 True, there are some who work against our order, and keep the 
 people in ignorance; but there are many others who have nothing 
 against it, neither indeed could they, because its aim is good and 
 praiseworthy; and of these, many a minister has already joined 
 the order, and I hope many more will yet unite with it ; I could 
 also wish that our own minister would soon become a member. If 
 many of them are opposed to the lodge, the more friendly-disposed 
 cannot answer for it; therefore I think we should not immediately 
 begin to rail at the parsons. 
 
 Ch. What! Is Maurice your brother? I never knew that. 
 
 E. To be sure, he is not my brother by birth, indeed, no rela- 
 tion of mine whatever, but still my brother, because he belongs to 
 the same order; all who belong to the lodge, be they where they 
 may, are among each other brothers ; they recognize each other 
 as such, stand by each other, and hold together in every respect as 
 brothers. 
 
 Ch. Really ! Then, perhaps, after all, it is something good ! 
 But, by my digressions, we have wandered entirely from the sub- 
 ject, and you have been prevented from telling me what the lodge 
 
8 
 
 is and what is its aim. You must know, if you have belonged to 
 it for ten years. Please tell me. 
 
 E, Well, I think I can speak from experience. In ten years 
 one can learn something. Neither did I let this time pass by 
 unemployed. I have profited by the lodge in many ways, and 
 have much to thank it for. Pay attention, then ! The lodge is 
 an association of purely moral men, of honorable, steadfast char- 
 acter. They have united together for the purpose of doing good 
 wherever they can, particularly in the support of the needy, visit- 
 ing the sick, burying the dead, helping the widow and educating 
 the orphan. They obligate themselves to stand by each other in 
 all positions and circumstances of life, to assist and to save each 
 other when they are in danger.* In this way, all the lodges of 
 our order, of which there are over 5000 in* America, are united. 
 Every one stands by the other, helps and promotes his interests 
 wherever he can, and if one of them be sick, he receives weekly 
 his appointed aid. If he needs night watchers, every night two 
 brothers are there, who wait on him, moisten his fever-parched 
 tongue with a refreshing drink, and alleviate his situation in every 
 possible way. If he dies, they render him the last services of 
 affection by closing his eyes, providing for the funeral, and seeing 
 to it that it is solemnly performed. Yea, the lodge provides for 
 the surviving widow and her uneducated children, takes care that 
 they do not suffer want, and that the children's minds are stored 
 with useful knowledge and their heart and will are properly 
 trained. Further, the lodge endeavors, by moral suasion, to unite 
 all hearts in Friendship, Love and Truth, to banish prejudice and 
 superstition, envy and hatred ; on the contrary, to promote har- 
 mony and concord. To make all men happy, that is its aim. 
 In short, the lodge is a magnificent Institution of Charity. And 
 what could be more ardently desired, than that all should unite 
 
 * See Odd Fellows' Pocket Companion, page 13. 
 

 
 with it, in order that the benefits of this great benevolence should 
 descend upon all ! And thirf is what we endeavor to attain by our 
 labors. Here I have given you, in a few words, to know what the 
 lodge is, and what is its aim. Consider now whether you will join 
 or not. Consider whether it is not a fine thing in time of need to 
 draw your weekly support ; whether it is not consoling in sickness, 
 every night to have two careful watchers by the sick bed ; whether- 
 it is not tranquilizing to every well wishing father of a family, to 
 know that after his death his widow and his uneducated children 
 are provided for in this cold world, where so little love is to be 
 found ! You have yourself a small flock, of which the youngest 
 cannot yet even walk alone. Now think for a moment : should 
 you die to-day or to-morrow, how would your mourning widow 
 and your helpless orphans fare? Surely every one, particularly 
 fathers of families, can do no better than to unite with this benevo- 
 lent association. Choose now, whether you will be left in sickness 
 without sympathy, aid, advice and comfort, or whether you will 
 enjoy comfort, advice, aid and sympathy. Choose whether at your 
 death, which may possibly be near, you will know your widow and 
 fatherless children provided for, or whether they shall be ex- 
 posed to wretchedness, hunger and want ! Choose whether your 
 dear Catharine, after your death, shall be enabled to live respecta- 
 bly, or whether she, perhaps forsaken by all, shall beg her own and 
 her children's bread at the doors of unmerciful men ! Choose, and 
 the sooner you decide to join, the better ! If you have an inclina- 
 tion to do so, I will propose you to the lodge. 
 
 Oh. Hallo ! You are almost as much excited as Maurice was. 
 I have never seen you so animated and eager before. 
 
 E. Yes, certainly ; for such a good cause one can become 
 excited, and one can't help being vexed when here and there peo- 
 ple are still to be found who are opposed to it. 
 
 CJi. Well, I do not know what to say to it ; but so much I do 
 know, that I cannot yet join. Support in time of need is all very 
 
10 f 
 
 fine; to know one's widow and orphans will be provided for after 
 our death, has also its consoling influence ; but I do not under- 
 stand as yet how it all hangs together and what more is connected 
 with it. At all events, I must first become better acquainted with 
 the matter, and examine it, else I might perhaps do something 
 contrary to my conscience, which is governed by God's word. 
 
 E. It is nothing contrary to your conscience, for the lodge 
 demands nothing from any one that is in opposition to his con- 
 science. * But I am not at all opposed to your wish to become 
 better acquainted with the subject, and I can also lend you a help- 
 ing hand thereto. I have at home several books and a whole 
 mass of publications, in which everything concerning the lodge is 
 clearly laid down, which I will gladly lend you, if you wish to read 
 them. 
 
 Ch. I am very glad of it, for I would like to learn more of 
 this subject, and to test it thoroughly. Can you come to-morrow 
 evening a while ? You know that the way I am situated at home, 
 1 cannot well leave. 
 
 E. 1 think I can. 
 
 Ch. Then please bring the books along. The evenings, which 
 are already pretty long and constantly growing longer, afford leisure 
 for reading. 
 
 E. I will do so with pleasure. 
 
 * See Odd Fellows 7 Improved Manual, pp. 73, 96, 119, 140; Pocket 
 Companion, p. 309. 
 
SECOND DIALOGUE. 
 
 Search the Scriptures. John 5: 39. That ye may 
 prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect 
 wilt of God. Rom. 12: 2. 
 
 Ernest, Well, neighbor, how do you get along? 
 
 Christian. Not very well ! Last night I could not go to sleep 
 for a long while; what I had heard yesterday concerning the lodge 
 made my head to whirl, and when, at length, I did fall asleep, I 
 dreamed I was in the lodge, and saw all kinds of abominable forms 
 and shapes, so that I was terribly frightened. And then 
 
 E. That came, probably, from your speaking yesterday about 
 the covenant with the devil. 
 
 Ch. Very likely And then it seemed to me as if I were dan- 
 gerously ill. Two of the lodge brothers sat by my bedside, and 
 when I wanted water, and could only gasp a few unintelligible 
 words, they gave me strong brandy. I could not speak. Gradu- 
 ally 1 became weaker and weaker. I felt death grasping at my 
 heart, and yet I could not die. Then the two brothers closed my 
 eyes. In the terrible anguish, that perhaps I should be buried 
 alive, I awoke and found myself bathed in sweat. 
 
 E. Well, dreams are but phantoms. 
 
 Ch. So I thought. 
 
 E. Have you considered the matter further to-day ? 
 
 Ch. Yes. This matter and what I heard yesterday I oould 
 not get out of my mind all day, and came near having a great mis- 
 fortune in consequence. 
 
12 
 
 E. In consequence of it? 
 
 Ch. Yes. I harnessed my horses to the plough to finish off 
 that last bit of land, but my mind was so engaged with the lodge 
 that I neglected to finish laying on the harness upon the gray, 
 which is the off horse. No sooner had I begun to drive, than the 
 gray, being very skittish, became aware that something was amiss, 
 became unmanageable, sprang to the left, and I received a terrible 
 blow in the side from the plough, which knocked me down, and it 
 was with difficulty that I could at last arise and hobble home. 
 
 E. What became of the horses ? 
 
 Ch. They ran home, and took no further damage, but the 
 plough is broken. 
 
 E. You might have been killed. 
 
 Ch. So I might 
 
 E. Think only. Had the misfortune been greater, had you 
 become a cripple, or remained dead on the spot, how would your 
 family fare now? I could not be easy, did I not know that my 
 family were provided for. 
 
 Ch. I thought of all that, and thanked G-od, from the bottom 
 of my heart, that he had so graciously averted the stroke. 
 
 E. Indeed I do not know how any father can rest, who does 
 not know that his family is provided for after his death. I, at 
 least, could not. 
 
 Ch. Certainly a father must do his duty and provide for his 
 family. I think, too, that I have never neglected my duty in this 
 respect, and will continue, so long as God lends me strength and 
 grace, to care for them. 
 
 E. That is all right, but certainly not sufficient. You can- 
 not, for instance, in several years to come, earn so much, even 
 should harvests prove extraordinarily good, that your family can 
 live without care. But you might be suddenly called away, and 
 then they would be destitute. They would, however, be provided 
 for, so soon as you join the lodge and pay the small entrance fee ? 
 
13 
 
 the weekly, accidental, half yearly and annual contributions. This 
 is, without question, the easiest way to provide for them, as I told 
 you last evening. 
 
 Oh. Humanly speaking, this may all be very true; but it 
 seems to me as if this manner of providing were not entirely free 
 from setting our confidence in man, and as if one did not believe 
 that that blessed God. in whose care we daily commend ourselves 
 and our families in prayer, would not provide for the widows and 
 orphans, as he has promised to do. But I will not judge about 
 that If I can convince myself that it is good, I shall consider it 
 to be my duty to join ; for, to him that knoweth to do good, and 
 doeth it not, to him it is sin." But have you anything to do 
 with religion ? 
 
 E. No, we have nothing at all to do with religion. We let 
 every one believe as he pleases. The order is only an association 
 for aid and charitable purposes. What did you mean with your 
 ' ' but, ' ; you did not come out with it ? 
 
 Oh. Yes, but I do not like to tell you. 
 
 E. Only come out with it. 
 
 Oh. Well, but you must not be angry with me. 
 
 E. By no means. 
 
 Oh. By my terrible dream I have really conceived a terror of 
 the lodge. Tell me, have you actually a covenant with the devil ? 
 
 E. Man, are you crazy? / a covenant with the devil? I 
 am a Christian. I was born and bred in the Christian religion ; 
 have learned Luther's smaller catechism, besides many texts and 
 hymns; go to church and to communion. And should I have a 
 covenant with the devil ? No, I did not expect that of you ! 
 What do you take me for? Did you ever find me a child of the 
 devil ? Tell me, if you know anything diabolical in me ! 
 
 Oh. Well, well ! Don't fly into such a passion. Come, let us 
 first light our pipes. Here are tobacco and matches. Does your 
 pipe burn ? 
 
14 
 
 E. Yes. 
 
 Gli. Now dear Ernest, I do not say that you have a covenant 
 with the devil, I merely ask. It partly appeared so to me in my 
 dream, and I thought I would inquire. To be sure, I was afraid 
 you would be angry. 
 
 E. Well, I will not be angry with you ; yet it does vex me to 
 hear such conjectures, especially from a friend. No ; I tell you 
 our order is nothing more than a benevolent and mutual aid 
 association. You may believe me, that it has already caused an 
 extraordinary amount of good, has distributed many benefits, and 
 accomplished many works of charity. Many widows and orphans 
 would to-day, in grief and want, be begging their bread from door 
 to door, yea, would have perished, had our order not taken care of 
 them. We do not accept each and every one, least of all one who 
 has proved himself to be a child of the devil ; but only such as are 
 upright and religiously inclined. To aid the brethren, to visit the 
 sick, to alleviate their sufferings if possible, to comfort them ; to 
 provide for widows and orphans ; in short, to make all men, were 
 it possible, happy, is our endeavor ! 
 
 Ch. In the course of the day, I have reflected much about 
 what you said yesterday evening, that the members of the lodge 
 know each other as brethren, be they where they may. I do not 
 understand that. Should you, for instance, move to another state, 
 and there meet a man you had never before seen, could you know 
 whether he was an Odd Fellow, without any one telling you ? 
 
 E. Certainly I could. 
 
 Ch. How is that possible? You cannot see into his heart! 
 
 E. No, I cannot ; but we have certain signs by which we 
 know each other. 
 
 Ch. What kind of signs ? 
 
 E. I cannot tell you ; but you will learn to know them if you 
 join. 
 
 Ch. Why can you not tell me ? 
 
15 
 
 E. Because the signs belong exclusively to the lodge, and we 
 have solemnly vowed not to communicate these matters to others, 
 
 Ch. Really ! Then you have secrets ? 
 
 E. Yes. 
 
 Ch. But the Apostle says (Eph. 5 : 12) : '* For it is a shame 
 even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret. " 
 And the Lord Jesus says (John 3: 20): " For every one that 
 doeth evil, hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his 
 deeds should be reproved." Are not your secrets, then, sinful? 
 
 E. They cannot possibly be sinful, because they contain 
 nothing bad in them. They are merely signs of recognition, and 
 there is nothing evil in that. I am firmly convinced you, too, 
 have your secrets ; I mean family secrets. 
 
 Ch. Then I am to conclude by this, that you carry your so- 
 called family secrets into the lodge. So, perhaps the only differ- 
 ence would be this : that the families not belonging to the lodge 
 keep those matters, which they do not wish every one to know, to 
 themselves ; while you, on the contrary, take such family matters 
 into the lodge, and besides these lodge secrets, have no particular 
 family secrets which you retain for yourselves ! 
 
 E. By no means. You have entirely misunderstood me. The 
 lodge has its own secrets, and these consist mainly in the signs of 
 recognition, the ceremonies of installation, and the rules and 
 instructions upon conferring the degrees. Besides, we have, as 
 all other men, our private family affairs, which we keep to our- 
 selves. 
 
 Ch. That looks very suspicious. Signs of recognition, which 
 no one else knows or dare know, by which you recognize each 
 other, although you have never met before ! Secret ceremonies 
 and rules, which no one outside of the lodge dare find out ! I 
 think, if your doctrines were really good, Love itself should prompt 
 you to communicate them to others. Here the words of the Apos- 
 tle occur to my mind : " For it is a shame to speak of those things 
 
16 
 
 which are done of them in secret." To be sure, I will not main- 
 tain that your secrets necessarily fall under this class, for as yet I 
 know too little about them ; but it seems very suspicious to me. 
 Pray, why do you have these mysteries ? 
 
 E. Because the order, without these secrets, could not fulfil 
 its high mission ; because we should be continually cheated, de- 
 frauded and deceived, and our benefactions would often be misused 
 if we did not have these signs. Indeed the order cannot exist 
 without these secrets. But why should I longer dispute with you 
 and answer your thousand and one objections and scruples? You 
 wanted to see the books. Here they are. Only peruse them with 
 attention, and I am convinced you will find nothing evil in them. 
 Indeed, your opinion of the order will be entirely changed, your 
 prejudices will vanish, your doubts be removed, your disinclination 
 be transformed into inclination. Yes, I rejoice in anticipation? my 
 dear neighbor, of seeing you brought into the lodge. 
 
 CJi. I am glad you brought the books along. I cannot rest 
 till I have examined the subject to its very foundation. 
 
 E. Do so. I tell you, the more you search into it ar . the 
 more thoroughly you test it, so much the more beautiful will you 
 find our lodge, so much the more noble its aim, so mucu " more 
 lovely its communion. That is just where so many miss [; : 
 cause they do not examine into it. Would they only test our 
 principles, many more would join us. 
 
 Ch. What are the names of those books ? 
 
 E. This is our Manual. The title is: "The Odd Fellows' 
 Improved Pocket Manual. By Rev. A. B. G-rosch. Philadel- 
 phia: Th. Bliss & Co. 1869." I would recommend this espe- 
 cially to your attention. It is the best and most thorough of 
 them all, and particularly recommended by sixty-seven Grand 
 Representatives of the Grand Lodge of the United States, who 
 affirm that this book is "a complete and faithful representation of 
 the History, th* Principles, Instructions, Work and Organization 
 
17 
 
 of the Order," and that we can rely upon its instructions "as cor- 
 rect. ' ' This other book bears the title : "The Odd Fellows' Pocket 
 Companion. By James L. Ridgely. Cincinnati, 0. R. W. Carrol 
 & Co., publishers. 1868." This is also good, and enters more 
 fully into the Constitution. This other is our Compendium, a 
 collection of the Laws and Decisions of the Grand Lodge of the 
 United States. The title is: "Digest of the Laws, Decisions 
 and Enactments of the R. W. (Right Worthy) Grand Lodge of 
 the United States, I. O. O. F. (Independent Order of Odd Fel- 
 lows). 1871." (To be had of James L. Ridgely, Baltimore.) 
 In this book you have not only our Laws, but also the Constitu- 
 tion, By-Laws and Regulations of the United States Grand Lodge, 
 as well as the ceremonies at funerals, dedication of a lodge, &c. 
 And, that you might thoroughly examine everything, I have also 
 brought along the Constitution and By-Laws of our State and of 
 our subordinate lodge, as well as a large bundle of transactions 
 and resolutions, of the United States Grand Lodge, the Grand 
 Lodge of our State and of our State's Grand Encampment of dif- 
 ferent years, and a great collection of our periodicals. 
 
 Ch. That is certainly a great mass of reading matter; but I 
 am very glad that I now have the opportunity to become acquaint- 
 ed with the subject from the best authorities. Are not all these 
 books and papers written by members of the lodge? 
 
 E. Yes, each one of them, and what they contain is correct, 
 on that you may depend. Only study them diligently. 
 
 Ch. Certainly I shall have enough to do tor a while. 
 
 E. To be sure you will, and, that you may not lose any time, 
 I will not disturb you for a time with my visits. 
 
 Ch. Well, that need not hinder you from coming. 
 
 E. I think it is better that you should not be disturbed. 
 
 Ch. Well, if you insist upon not coming for a while, 1 yet 
 entreat you not to put off your next visit for too long a time. 
 
 E. Very well, it shall not be too long. 
 
THIRD DIALOGUE. 
 
 Know ye that the Lord he is God: it is he that hath 
 made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, 
 and the sheep of his pasture. Ps. 100 : 3. 
 (Isa. 44: 6. 1 Cor. 8:6.) 
 
 E. Well, dear Christian, how do you get along with your 
 studies ? Have you almost worked through the documents V 
 
 Ch Yes, day before yesterday I read the last page. 
 
 E. Indeed you have been very diligent ! 
 
 Ch. Yes; when I have something of this kind before me, I 
 cannot rest until it is finished. I also availed myself of several 
 rainy days we have had to read. 
 
 E. Well, how does the thing please you now ? 
 
 Ch. I cannot answer you in a few words. 
 
 E. Is the subject now clear to your mind, or have you still 
 all manner of doubts and objections ? 
 
 Ch I believe it is now clear to me, for I have closely read all 
 the documents. Many portions I have read over at least three 
 times, and have carefully reflected on all. But I have some doubts, 
 and must make many objections. 
 
 E. That is certainly more than I expected. What kind of 
 doubts and objections have you ? 
 
 Ch. I cannot set them forth in brief terms. We must take 
 point after point. First, I must observe that you have stated the 
 affair in a very different manner from what it is depicted in your 
 own publications. 
 
19 
 
 E. In what respect have I stated it differently ? 
 
 Ch. I asked you expressly whether the lodge had anything to 
 do with religion. You answered: " No, the lodge has nothing at 
 all to do with religion." 
 
 E. I did say so. Is it not true ? 
 
 Ch. No. You have a great deal to do with religion. You 
 acknowledge, in religious matters, a highest " authority "; you 
 have the Bible and use it, lor you read the ten commandments 
 and other portions of Scripture and apply them; you have High- 
 priests and Grand Highpriests, Chaplains, Grand Chaplains, and 
 altars ; you teach and confess the existence of a God, and demand 
 faith in " a Supreme Being, the Ruler of the Universe "; you 
 teach the duties we owe him, and lead men to obey his command- 
 ments ; you teach the way to salvation, have your set prayers and 
 religious ceremonies, for example, at funerals, dedication of lodges, 
 and installation in the different degrees. All this is superfluous, 
 if you have nothing to do with religion. That you have and 
 make use of all this, is sufiicient proof that you have much to do 
 with religion. Indeed, I cannot consider you in any other light 
 than as a religious association. 
 
 E. Yes, if you look at it in this light, and take everything 
 so literally and exactly ; but I cannot think that that has much 
 to signify. When I said that we, as a lodge, had nothing to do 
 with religion, I only meant that we do not rob any one of his 
 faith, or compel him to accept another; and that we give no par- 
 ticular religious instruction, as, for instance, is given in a cate- 
 chetical class. We do not baptize, we do not administer the 
 communion, and just as little do we have a weekly sermon or 
 religious discourse. 
 
 Ch. You do not compel any one, by external force, to accept 
 joar faith, and in so far can truly say that you let every one be- 
 lieve as he pleases. Yet, whoever wishes to be received, must 
 confess that he believes in a divine being" for, should he deny 
 
20 
 
 that, you dare not accept him (Digest, page 361). Further, you 
 have repeatedly said the lodge was nothing more than a benevolent 
 and mutual aid association. To support and assist each other, 
 that was its chief aim. 
 
 E. And is not that the chief aim of the lodge V 
 Ch. No, it is not. See here, on page 47 ff. of the Manual, 
 it is said : " The order, as founded by Brother Wildey, was 
 simply a humane institution, its main objects were to relieve 
 brethren, bury the dead, and care for the widow and orphan. 
 But gradually there were infused into its lectures and charges 
 much moral and (unsectarian) religious instruction ; and at each 
 revision these principles were increased, and deepened, and 
 strengthened, until its beneficial and relief measures, from being 
 ends, have become means to a higher and greater end "to im- 
 prove and elevate the character of man, to imbue him with con- 
 conceptions of his capability for good, to enlighten his mind." 
 On page 110 it says: " It is unfortunate for our order, and for 
 not a few of its members, that too much prominence has been 
 generally given to its feature of pecuniary benefits in seasons of 
 sickness and death, and pecuniary aid in circumstances of want 
 and distress. This, though a laudable and useful trait in our 
 operations, is hardly a tithe of our aims and objects.'' On page 
 117 we read: "Let no one unite with the order merely to ... 
 insure himself provision in case of sickness and distress." On 
 page 261 it says: " It is time that those who unite with us ... 
 but for the loaves and fishes, should learn that they have mistaken 
 their aim." In the Pocket Companion, page 13, we read, that 
 the order is not "a mere pecuniary advantage, as many unfortu- 
 nately understand it to be." Many other passages which say the 
 same thing, I could read to you, but think that these are sufficient 
 to prove that your assertion, that mutual aid is the chief aim, is 
 entirely false. There it -Hands, in clear and unmistakable terms, 
 that "its beneficial and relief measures" n.ra not ''ends," but 
 
"means to a higher and greater end." The lodge declares, in 
 plain terms, ' * the pecuniary benefits ' ' are ' * hardly the tenth part 
 of our aims and objects. 1 ' It declares: " Let no one unite with 
 the order" merely " to insure pecuniary profits." Further, it de- 
 clares that all who unite for this reason "have missed their aim." 
 The lodge therefore expresses, clearly and plainly, that it designs 
 something higher and greater than pecuniary benefits. 
 
 E. I told you expressly, that we do not accept every one, but 
 only moral, steady and religiously inclined persons Certainly we 
 must care, besides for the benefits, for morality also. What would 
 people think of us, if we suffered the members of the lodge to lead 
 an immoral life ? 
 
 Ch. The question is not, what sort of a life you lead, or should 
 lead, according to the rules of your lodge, but that you have some- 
 thing to do with religion; indeed your religion is perhaps the 
 chief end. 
 
 E. That this is the chief end, I cannot see. To be sure, when 
 one considers the matter as you do, we have perhaps something to 
 do with religion. I, however, look at it from a diiferent point of 
 view. Since we impart no particular religious instruction, do not 
 baptize, do not administer the Lord's supper, allow every one to 
 believe as he pleases, I say we have nothing to do with religion. 
 
 Ch. How can you talk like this? Pray, have the ten command- 
 ments, reading portions of the Scripture, religious discourses, the 
 nominating, choosing and installing the High Priests and Chap- 
 lains, the religious ceremonies and prayers, nothing to do with 
 religion ? 
 
 E. The ten commandments and prayers certainly belong to 
 religion. 
 
 Ch, You understand, therefore, that you have something to 
 do with religion ? 
 
 E. I grant that we have something of a religious nature, but 
 nothing sectarian. 
 
22 
 
 Oh. Whether you have anything sectarian or not, we will 
 consider another time. You have, therefore, according to youi 
 own confession, something of religion, something to do with reli- 
 gion.* As Christians, we must now thoroughly prove whether 
 this religion of yours coincides with the holy Scriptures. 
 
 E, Most assuredly it does, for do we not use the Scriptures? 
 In them we are commanded to support the widows and orphans, 
 
 Ck. Well, we shall see. You believe, therefore, in one God; 
 and demand faith in him, do you not ? 
 
 E. Certainly. 
 
 Ch. What kind of a God is that in which you believe ? 
 
 E. What a stupid question ! In what kind of a God should 
 we believe, than in the one true G-od, who has created the heavens 
 and the earth, who preserves them, and who giveth us his rain and 
 sunshine. I should think you might have known that. 
 
 Ch. Yes, but there are so many Q-ods, and we must be cau- 
 tious that we do not mistake an idol for the true God ! Is your 
 God the Triune, that is, one Being and three Persons, or is he 
 only one, that is, one Being and only one Person ? 
 
 E. You know very well that the Bible, as well as our Cate- 
 chism, teaches a Triune God, and he is our God as well as he is 
 yours. 
 
 Ch. But you have Jews in your lodge, and Heathen and 
 Turks may become members. Do they also believe in the Triune 
 God? 
 
 E. I do not know, neither does it concern me in the least. I 
 let every one believe what he pleases. 
 
 Ch. Have those Jews and Heathen who are received into the 
 Lodge, answered the qu stion, whether they believe in God, in 
 the affirmative also ? 
 
 * See Lodge Bulletin of July, 1871. There it says: " Oddfellowship 
 has a morality, HAS A RELIGION, OR THEOLOGY. 77 
 
23 
 
 E. Yes, certainly, else they would not have been received. 
 tn the subordinate lodge, of which I am a member, we have, 
 however, no Heathen. 
 
 Oh. That may well be the case, that in your small lodge 
 you have no Heathen or Mohammedans; but they might be 
 accepted. See here, on page 238 of your Digest, it is said that 
 it is not forbidden to propose any Infidel for membership, provided 
 he believes "in a Supreme Being, the Creator and Preserver of 
 the Universe," and that no unbelief disqualifies a man to become 
 a member of the Order. The Pocket Companion expresses this 
 yet more plainly on page 307, where it says: " Jew or Gentile, 
 Catholic or Protestant, is, as such, welcome to our lodges.'' And 
 the Manual, on page 374, coincides entirely therewith. Now, 
 from this fact, that the Jews, Heathen and Mohammedans an- 
 swer the question, whether they believe in God, in the affirmative, 
 it follows with certainty that the lodge has not the Triune God ; 
 for the Jews do not believe in the Triune God, do not even receive 
 the Old Testament as God's word, else they must become Chris- 
 tians. The Mohammedans, according to their Koran, believe in 
 " Allah, " but not in the Triune God, Father, Son and Holy Ghost, 
 as he has revealed himself to us in the Holy Scriptures. Or can 
 you imagine that a Heathen, Jew or Mohammedan, as soon as he 
 becomes a member of the Lodge, believes in the Triune God of 
 the Christians ? 
 
 E. That is not very probable. If they have not been taught, 
 they do not know him, and can therefore not believe in him ; but 
 it is our mission to instruct the weaker brethren. 
 
 Ch. And what is written in your books concerning God, 
 proves quite clearly that the God which the lodge has, is not the 
 Triune God. 
 
 E. Why, what do they say about him ? 
 
 Ch. On page 114 of the Manual the God of the lodge is de- 
 signated as "a Supreme Intellect, the Ruler of the Universe." On 
 
24 
 
 page 140 God is represented as the Father of all men, who, accord- 
 ing to page 222, will make the members of the order "sharers of 
 his immortality and eternal life." Whether they believe (in the 
 biblical sense of the word) or not, makes no difference with this 
 "universal Father" (page 366), according to the doctrines of the 
 lodge. On page 388 we read: "Followers of different teachers, 
 ye are worshipers of One God, who is Father of all, and therefore 
 ye are brethrejt." On page 387 it is said that "the three great 
 religions of the world (Judaism, Christianity and Mohammedan- 
 ism) recognize the One, only living and true God. 7 ' The God of 
 the lodge is, therefore, the "Supreme Intellect" (not a person), 
 "the Ruler of the Universe," whom the Jews, Mohammedans 
 and Christians recognize. That the Jews, however, have another 
 God than the Triune, everybody knows, as well as that the Mo- 
 hammedan believes in Allah, and not in the Father, Son and 
 Holy Ghost. The lodge teaches that " followers of different 
 teachers," let them be called Mohammed, Christ, Pope, Confu- 
 cius, Voltaire, Paine or Luther, are "worshipers" of the same 
 God. Indeed a dreadful lie, from which it is clear that the lodge 
 has no other God than the God of Reason, that God which every 
 one, by means of his reason, forms to himself; therefore an idol 
 of his fancy, let him be Jew or Gentile, a Mohammedan or a 
 Christian, who has denied the faith of the Bible. 
 
 E. There you go decidedly too far. When I say I believe in 
 God. this my faith is not from reason, but from the Bible ; there- 
 fore I do not believe in an idol of my own fancy, but in the true 
 God ; and I think the other brethren in the lodge do the same. 
 
 Ch. I am rejoiced to hear that you believe in the true God 
 and not in an idol of reason ; but the question here is not what 
 you believe, neither what perhaps some other brethren of the 
 lodge believe, but what the lodge teaches concerning God what 
 kind of a God it has. And that the lodge has only an idol of 
 human reason, is proved most forciMy by the words I have just 
 
25 
 
 quoted, where it says the followers of different teachers are wor- 
 
 / 
 
 shipers of the same God. Now, Mohammed was a teacher, and 
 taught to worshig a being which ho called Allah, which, how- 
 ever* never existed. The Pope claims to be a great teacher, and 
 teaches the invocation, and therefore the adoration of the saints ; 
 for invocation is a way of praying. The Chinese follow their 
 teachers, who instruct them to worship idols and slips of paper. 
 The Fetish worshipers follow their teachers, who have taught 
 them to worship shavings and potsherds. Our ancient Germans, 
 while still heathen, followed their instructors when they worshiped 
 springs, large oak trees, or the sun and moon. Can you now im- 
 agine that the worshipers of idols in China, the Fetish adorer, 
 the snake worshiper, the adorer of Allah, and he who invokes the 
 Saints, worship the true God ? 
 
 E. Well, if they do not know him, they cannot worship him. 
 But you consider the subject in a very wrong light. We hold fast 
 to the main point, and that is, that there is a God. The lodge 
 does not enter into a minute description of who or what God is. 
 The main point is, there is a God, and the lodge holds fast to that. 
 
 Oh. I must decidedly deny that. What use, for example, to 
 the worshiper of an idol, is the God which he imagines to dwell 
 in his idol of wood or stone ? Can this God save him ? When 
 he dies, can he grant him a peaceful end and receive him into 
 Heaven? See: according to your opinion, the idolatrous heathen 
 has the main point, viz., the belief that there is a God ; and yet 
 he lacks consolation, forgiveness of sins, life and salvation, and 
 therefore everything. What good does this main point do him ? 
 About as much as nothing. And what a terrible insult it is to 
 the majesty of our God, to imagine something else as God, to 
 honor and worship it ! That is to rob God the Lord of his honor ! 
 No, the main point is not the belief that there is a God. The 
 main point is, that we know the true God aright, and believe in 
 him. That is the main point. 
 
26 
 
 E. Well, I told you it is our duty to instruct the weak breth- 
 ren. If, then, some entertain wrong views concerning God, we 
 can teach them better. 
 
 *<7A. That must be a fine instruction indeed ! When members 
 of the lodge, which set up, recognize and defend this false doc- 
 trine, who have long ago rejected the doctrines of the Sacred 
 Scriptures, or have never believed them, when they give instruc- 
 tion concerning God, that must indeed be interesting. What kind 
 of instruction, for instance, would it be, if a Mohammedan, a Jew 
 or a worshiper of Nature would teach us about God, his Being and 
 his Works? A. fine instruction, indeed! 
 
 E. I believe, for certain, that what our books say about God, 
 is entirely sufficient for the Lodge, and the more so because the 
 people of Israel did not believe in the triune, but in the one God. 
 
 Ch. The question is not whether it is sufficient for the lodge 
 or not, but whether what the lodge teaches of God coincides with 
 the holy Scripture. And when you say that Israel did not believe 
 in the Triune God, I cannot possibly agree with you. I can only 
 say that the doctrine of the holy Trinity is not so plainly and 
 clearly revealed in the Old as in the New Testament. That, how- 
 ever, this doctrine is contained in the Old Testament, and in the 
 light of the New Testament becomes quite clear and evident, we 
 see, for example, in the following passages : Gen. 1 : 1-3 ; Ps. 
 33 : 6 ; Numb. 6 : 24-26 ; Isaiah 48 : 16, 61, 1, 9, 3. Do we, 
 then, find passages in the Old Testament from which it is evident 
 that God is not one, but three persons? Then we have certainly 
 no right to say Israel did not believe in the Triune God. If Israel 
 believed in that God who revealed himself to them, and so far as 
 he revealed himself to them, then they had the right, the true 
 God. We, however, have not only the Old Testament, but also 
 the New, the complete Word of God ; and in this word God has 
 clearly and manifestly revealed himself as triune, that is, one 
 Being and three Persons. (Compare Matt. 3 : 16, 17 ; John 
 
27 
 
 14 : 16, 17 ; 2 Cor. 3 : 13.) Can you point me to one single 
 passage in all the publications of your lodge which proves that 
 the lodge believes in this Triune God, and requires faith in him 
 from its members ? 
 
 E. That 1 certainly cannot do. In all our writings, we speak 
 only of God in general. 
 
 Ch. It is well that you give it up beforehand. You might 
 seek to all eternity, but would not find any, for the simple reason 
 that nothing of the kind stands in all your publications. If you, 
 therefore, cannot even show one passage in all your Odd Fellow 
 writings, can you still think that the lodge has the true Triune 
 God, that it teaches and confesses him ? 
 
 E. I do not really know how to answer you. I, for my part, 
 believe in the Triune God, as I have learned in the school. What 
 others believe, does not concern me. Every one has to answer for 
 himself. 
 
 Oh. You do indeed seem to take it very easy, but the matter 
 is a very serious one. Do you believe one can join a society which 
 teaches false doctrine, without committing a great sin ? 
 
 E. I .do not know what wrong there would be in joining a 
 society which makes material assistance its principal object, even 
 when it does not agree in all points with our Lutheran doctrine. 
 To aid and assist pecuniarily, that is our chief principle. 
 
 Ch. I entreat you, do not come again with your assertion 
 that the lodge is exclusively, or even mainly, an association for 
 mutual assistance. That is not true ! See here, on page 110 
 of the Manual, the lodge declares that its pecuniary benefits are 
 "hardly the tenth part" of its "ends and objects." On page 
 261 it is said that such as jyn the order for the sake of the bene- 
 fits " have mistaken their aim." And on page 117 it is expressly 
 said : " Let no one unite with the order merely to ... secure him- 
 self assistance." It has, therefore, other aims than mutual aid. 
 But what does the holy Scripture say about Christians uniting 
 
28 
 
 with heterodox bodies? Paul writes, 1 Tim. 5 '. 22 : "Neither 
 be partakers of other men's sins." That is done by joining a 
 society which teaches and defends false doctrine, as the lodge 
 certainly does ; for thereby we consent to these false doctrines, 
 acknowledge them, and assist such a society to disseminate them. 
 And that is a great wrong. It is dreadful to approve and 
 acknowledge the perversion of God's word. In this way we make 
 God a liar, and ourselves tools to help other souls to be led into 
 error and condemnation. It is a Christian's sacred duty to con- 
 demn every false doctrine, whenever he can ; to protest against 
 every perversion of God's word, and at all times to coniess his 
 Lord Jesus. If he neglect to do so, or even does the very con- 
 trary, he denies his Master, who has purchased him with such a 
 great price. The Lord Jesus says: "Whosoever shall deny me 
 before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in 
 heaven" (Matt. 10 : 33). And what position a Christian should 
 maintain over against such bodies as teach false doctrine, St. Paul 
 tells us in 2 Cor. 6 : 14-18 : " Be ye not unequally yoked together 
 with unbelievers : for what fellowship hath righteousness with un- 
 righteousness ? And what communion hath light with darkness ? 
 And what concord hath Christ with Belial? Or what part hath 
 he that believeth with an infidel ? And what agreement hath the 
 temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living 
 God ; as God hath said, I will dwell in them and walk in them, 
 and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Therefore 
 come out from among them and be ye separate, saith the Lord, 
 and touch not the unclean thing." And in Eph. 5 : 11 the same 
 Apostle says : "And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works 
 of darkness, but rather reprove them." In the Epistle to the 
 Galatians, chapter 1 : 8, 9, every one who teaches another gospel 
 is even called accursed. As the word of God, then, is so much 
 in earnest and so particular about it, 1 entreat you to do the 
 same. However, the doctrine concerning God is not the only 
 
29 
 
 false doctrine of the lodge. It has more fundamental errors 
 still. 
 
 E. Well, what next will you discover in our books ? I am 
 already said to deny the Lord ; the lodge is said to teach funda- 
 mental errors ; and who knows what next you bring up ? But 
 for to-day I have no more time to listen to your further objec- 
 tions ; you must put them off till the next time. However, you 
 must not exaggerate, must endeavor to look upon every subject in 
 the best possible light, and to speak good of it as far as ever you 
 can. 
 
 Ch. Well, if you have no time, I will not detain you longer. 
 Only come soon again, that we may converse more about the mat- 
 ter. WQ must necessarily examine it carefully. 
 
 E. Certainly I hope, too, you will gain a better opinion of 
 our ord^r when you first come to know how much good it has 
 already accomplished. 
 
 Ch- Very well ; our further discussion will show. 
 
FOURTH DIALOGUE. 
 
 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, 
 but according to his mercy, he saved us, by the 
 washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy 
 Ghost. Titus 3:5. 
 
 Ernest. Well, dear neighbor, I am most anxious to hear what 
 further false doctrines or fundamental errors the lodge entertains. 
 Since our last conversation I have thought a great deal what kind 
 of false doctrines they might be. I must, however, honestly con- 
 fess I have not been able to discover them. I then thought you 
 must be a real hypochondriac, who suspects nothing but ghosts, 
 dreadful spectres, and all kinds of monsters, when only a small 
 cloud passes over. The recollection of your dream confirms me 
 in this opinion. 
 
 Christian. I would willingly bear the name of a hypochon- 
 driac, if by this means the lodge could be purified from its really 
 fundamental errors ; but that, alas ! is impossible. The false doc- 
 trines of the lodge are evident ; and they are not lessened in the 
 least, even if the lodge calls me and other Christians who cannot 
 approve them, hypochondriacs. The more I think of U, the more 
 it horrifies me, especially because so many weak Christian souls, 
 unsuspicious of evil, are drawn into the lodge, and gradually be- 
 come so blinded that they do not perceive these false doctrines ; 
 yea, even consider them to be true, and so are in the greatest dan- 
 ger of losing their souls. 
 
81 
 
 E. Well, really, that promises to get interestiug. You are 
 perhaps ready to condemn all the Odd Fellows. 
 
 Ch. God be praised, I am far from it. On the contrary, I 
 love the Odd Fellows, and would gladly do them all manner of 
 good ; but their false doctrines 1 must condemn ; or rather not I, 
 but the word of God condemns them. 
 
 E. Which are, then, these frightful errors? I am anxious 
 to hear them. 
 
 Ch. Very well ; for to-day we will hear but one. 
 
 E. Which one ? 
 
 Ch. Tell me, how can we be saved ? 
 
 E I think you ought to know that. The Bible says, Repent 
 and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. 
 
 Ch. Quite correct. I rejoice to hear that you have not got 
 so far as many lodge members, who would be saved by their own 
 works. But does the lodge teach this way of salvation ? No, by 
 no means. Before any one can repent, he must be brought by the 
 law of God to a knowledge of his sins. He must know that he 
 has many times transgressed all the commandments of his God, 
 and thereby offended the holy and just God, provoked his wrath 
 and indignation, and deserves death and eternal damnation. He 
 must know that it is literally true, when our Catechism, in the 
 Second Article, calls every man a lost and condemned sinner, as 
 well on account of original as for actual sin. Does the lodge 
 strive to produce and to awaken this knowledge in its mem- 
 bers? 
 
 E. I do not know that they have that in view, and consider 
 it to be quite superfluous. The Bible teaches the way of salva- 
 tion, and it is a clergyman's duty to explain it to us : so the lodge 
 surely need not do it. 
 
 Ch. Certainly it need not, as it is not called to do so. Never- 
 theless, it does teach a way to salvation, and this is a dreadful 
 heresy, that it teaches another way to salvation than the holy 
 
32 
 
 Scriptures do, and thereby leads all who imbibe the poison of thi* 
 false doctrine in the way to destruction. In all your publications, 
 not a single passage occurs acknowledging that all men by nature 
 are under the curse of original sin ; no passage showing that 
 44 the thoughts and imaginations of the human heart are evil con- 
 tinually"; no passage teaching that "out of the heart proceed 
 evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false wit- 
 ness, blasphemies" (Matt. 15 : 19 ; no single passage from which 
 we could conclude that the lodge acknowledges that every one is 
 accursed, and under the everlasting wrath of God, "that con- 
 tinueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law 
 to do them" (Gal. 8: 10.) 
 
 E. It is, however, more than once said in them, that all men 
 have their faults, and surely faults are sins. 
 
 Ch. To be sure that is said in them. But can you show me 
 a passage in which the faults are set down as sins against the holy 
 and just God, and subject men to his wrath and punishment; 
 one passage in which it is said that we by such faults deserve 
 everlasting condemnation ? 
 
 E. It is true, it is not considered such a serious matter. 
 
 Ch. The lodge knows nothing at all about God's wrath over 
 sin. To help its members to a knowledge of their sins ; to prove 
 them to be poor sinners, is not at all its object. On the contrary, 
 it uses all endeavors to stifle the sense and consciousness of sin 
 in its members, by continually extolling its members and their 
 deeds, and tries to make every man believe he is capable of doing 
 good. On page 47 ff. of the Manual it says that the lodge recog- 
 nizes its mission to be "to improve and elevate the character of 
 man ; to imbue him with conceptions of his capability for good. 
 From page 112 ft", we learn " the most important uses and aims" 
 of Oddfellowpfno to be "the imbuing of the minds of our brethren 
 with proper conceptions of their powers and capacities." The 
 praise of the lodge and its deeds is found upan almost every page 
 
33 
 
 your writings. In the Manual, page 69, it is said, for exam- 
 ple, : " What institution .... has accomplished more good and 
 prevented more suffering in so few years?" On page 68 it is said, 
 the order has " driven back the waves of ignorance, vice and self- 
 ishness everywhere, and has moulded into a kindred likeness of 
 benevolence, not a few institutions nearly as powerful for good as 
 itself." On page 72 we read: "The name of Odd Fellow has 
 been rendered dear to our hearts by the glorious deeds of benevo- 
 lence and philanthropy performed under it." And so the praise is 
 sounded continually through all your writings ; one can scarcely 
 *ead a page or two in all your journals without stumbling over 
 such detestable self-praise. All these periodicals are almost noth- 
 ing else than compilations of lamentable self-exaltation, which 
 Serves to blind the members more and more, to awaken and nour- 
 ish the feeling of imaginary greatness ; and on the contrary, 
 gradually to stifle the feeling of one's own sinfulness entirely. 
 But self-praise is no recommendation. 
 
 E. But we are commanded to do good works, and as our order 
 does many excellent ones, I do not think it is wrong to publish 
 them. 
 
 Ch. To be sure, a Christian does good works. But I beg 
 you, let us treat of that another time, and, for to-day, stick to 
 the question, How can we be saved ? The first step to it is the 
 confession of our sins, as well as the knowledge that we have 
 thereby deserved God's wrath and punishment. Furthermore, 
 true repentance and sorrow for sin is also required. As the 
 lodge, however, knows nothing of sin, nor of the anger of the 
 holy and just God against sin, it also knows nothing of repent- 
 ance and sorrow for sin. It is entirely ignorant of that repent- 
 ance which needeth not to be repented of. Indeed it must seem 
 eminently ridiculous to a brother of your lodge, that a David 
 should water his couch with tears of repentance, or that Manasseh 
 should weep for his sins, as also Peter. Your answer, a while 
 
34 
 
 ago, was quite correct, that we could only be saved by repentance 
 and faith. Now it must be clear to you that the lodge neither 
 teaches nor does anything that might lead any one to the knowl- 
 edge of sin ; is entirely ignorant of, and does not care about 
 repentance before God for our manifold sins. As it therefore 
 knows nothing about sin (in the biblical sense of the word), knows 
 and cares nothing about repentance and sorrow before God, it, of 
 course, knows nothing of faith in Jesus Christ, the Savior of sin- 
 ners, nothing of the forgiveness of sins. Indeed the lodge, accord- 
 ing to the position it has assumed, can neither know nor care 
 anything about these things. 
 
 E. Pray, why can it know nothing about these things ? 
 
 Ch. Tell me, do you look for a physician when you are not 
 sick? 
 
 E Certainly not. 
 
 Ch. Well, the lodge is not sick from the wounds of sin : it 
 considers itself quite well therefore it seeks no physician, indeed 
 will not have one. You know, however, that our Lord Jesus 
 Christ, true God and true man, is the physician of suffering souls. 
 Does the lodge acknowledge Jesus Christ to b true God? 
 Please show me one single passage in all these Odd Fellow publi- 
 cations, where Jesus Christ is recognized as the true God. Do 
 show me one ! 
 
 E. At this moment I certainly cannot do so, but I think 
 surely there are some to be found. 
 
 Ch. No, dear neighbor, there is not a single one in them all. 
 Neither can there be any, on account of the Jews whom you have 
 in your lodge, on account of the Heathen and Turks * whom you 
 have taken in, and to whom the door of the lodge stands open ; 
 for they would not suffer it. It denies, therefore, at least tacitly, 
 
 * See Pocket Comp., page 128, fl. 306, 309. Manual, p. 383. Digest, 
 p. 238. 
 
35 
 
 that God the Father so loved the world that he gave his only be- 
 gotten son (John 3 : 16). It denies that Jesus Christ is "the 
 true God, and eternal life" (1 John 5 : 20). It denies that 
 Jesus Christ "came, who is over all, God, hlessed forever" 
 (Rom. 9 : 5). It denies that "God is revealed in the flesh " 
 (1 Tim. 3 : 16). That it is God's will "that all men should 
 honor the Son, even as they honor the Father" (John 5 : 23). 
 What do you think, however? Is it a chief and fundamental 
 doctrine of our Christianity, that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, 
 or is it only an unimportant, insignificant doctrine ? 
 
 E. Most assuredly it is a fundamental doctrine of our Chris- 
 tianity. 
 
 Ch. Certainly it is. With it Christianity stands or falls. If 
 Jesus Christ is not the Son of God, the whole plan of redemption 
 is nothing ; we are, then> still in our sins ; cannot through eter- 
 nity be saved ; indeed the entire holy Scripture is then nothing 
 but a book of intense .deception. And this fundamental article of 
 the Christian faith the lodge rejects ; it therefore robs every one 
 who believes its teachings of the foundation of his faith, the 
 foundation of his salvation in time and in eternity. To warn^us 
 against such enemies of our faith, John writes, in his first Epistle, 
 chap. 4:3: "And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus 
 Christ is come in the flesh, is not of God " ; and admonishes us 
 (2 John, v. 10) not to receive such. However, he says, in John 
 4:15: " Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, 
 God dwelleth in him, and he in God/' 
 
 E. I do not remember a single passage in our books where it 
 is said Jesus Christ is not the Son of God ; on the contrary, he is 
 often referred to as to a wise man, and his example is sometimes 
 recommended in the Manual for imitation. 
 
 Ch. That is just the trouble, that the lodge does not use 
 plain and honest language when it speaks of the subject. It does 
 not believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and yet it does 
 
36 
 
 not say so in plain terms, that simple, weak Christians can readily 
 understand it. It is not, however, without design that it thus 
 plays at hide and seek. Should it declare, in round terms, "We 
 do not believe that Jesus is the Son of God/' and should it make 
 this publicly known, how many of those who still value in some 
 degree their Christianity, would it gain ? Would you have joined 
 it if it had made such a declaration ? 
 
 E. By no means would I have done so. 
 
 Ch. The gentlemen of the Grand Lodge of the United States, 
 who are at the helm, and who have all the other Odd Fellows in 
 leading-strings, know this very well, and therefore endeavor to 
 give themselves a Christian appearance before Christians. We 
 have the Bible and read in it, they say ; yea, they even 
 declare, "We believe the Bible," merely to catch such souls as 
 still love God's word. We need not wonder at this serpent-like 
 cunning, for the Devil, the father of lies, acts just so. He trans- 
 forms himself, as Paul says (2 Cor. 11 : 14), "into an angel of 
 light." That was his way not only with Adam and Eve in Para- 
 dise ; he is the same to this day. The lodge, however, rejects not 
 only the fundamental doctrine that Jesus is the Son of God, but 
 also the other important and essential truth, that we, through 
 nothing else than Jesus' blood and wounds, obtain grace, forgive- 
 ness, life and salvation. You said, a while ago, that your books 
 sometimes refer you to the example of Jesus ; but that cannot sav 
 us. Can you now prove from your books that you, with all your 
 "faults," are directed to the blood of Christ in order to seek for- 
 giveness there? 
 
 E. It is true, I never read that in them. 
 
 Ch. I believe that, for there is nothing said of that in them. 
 Now, the holy Scripture teaches : ' Neither is there salvation in 
 any other" than in Jesus Christ (Acts 4 : 12). It teaches: 
 "The blood of Jesus Christ, his Son, cleanseth us from all sin" 
 (1 John 1:7). It teaches : "In whom (Christ) we have redemp- 
 
37 
 
 tion through his blood, the forgiveness of sins " (Eph. 1 : 7)< The 
 lodge, however, denies all this, and rejects the forgiveness of sins 
 through the blood of Christ. The Scripture teaches, further, that 
 Christ was made a curse for us (Gal. 3 : 13) ; was made sin for 
 us (2 Cor. 5 : 21) ; our sins and iniquities were laid upon him 
 (Isa. 53), that he might bear them and gain forgiveness for us. 
 And whoever asks, What shall I do to be saved ? is pointed to 
 him with the words, " Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and 
 thou shalt be saved and thy house " (Acts 16 : 30, 31), or with 
 the words, "Repent and believe the gospel " (Mark 1 : 15). For 
 faith in Christ alone it is by which we can be justified before God, 
 as it is so clearly and distinctly taught in the sacred Scriptures. 
 Paul writes (Rom. 3 : 28) : ''Therefore we conclude that a man 
 is justified by faith, without the deeds of the law;" and (Rom. 
 10 : 4) : " For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to 
 every one that believeth." And the Lord Jesus says that " who- 
 soever believeth in the Son of God shall not perish, but have ever- 
 lasting life" (John 3 : 16). This, however, the lodge rejects like- 
 wise, and does not believe in salvation by grace through the 
 merits of Jesus Christ. The lodge does not, like John the Bap- 
 tist, point the poor sinner to Christ and say; u Behold the Lamb 
 of God, which taketh away the sin of the world " (John 1 : 29). 
 No, it does the very contrary, and endeavors to keep every one 
 away from Christ. 
 
 E. You should not pick so at everything. You seem to be a 
 real hair-splitter. Consider how much good the order has already 
 accomplished and is continually doing, and remember that on 
 earth nothing is perfect. 
 
 Ch. Well, you must first remember that we cannot be too 
 careful and particular with what God tells us in his pure word. 
 And in this matter I am not at all displeased if you call me a 
 hair-splitter. I also promise you to consider and properly regard 
 whatever good the order has. And, as you seem to take that so 
 
much at heart, let us in our next conversation take that for ouv 
 snbject. 
 
 E. I am rejoiced to hear that, and can tell you that I shall be 
 ready for you. 
 
 Oh. Very good. But to-day I have to prove to you yet that 
 the lodge teaches a way to salvation. That the lodge don't want 
 to know anything of repentance and faith, and of Jesus Christ as 
 our Redeemer and Savior- and therefore of the true way to salva- 
 tion, you must see and acknowledge, if you will be honest. What 
 kind of a way to salvation does it, then, teach ? It teaches, like 
 the real Pharisees and the Pope, a way of salvation by so-called 
 good loorlcs. And this is so frequently and repeatedly expressed, 
 that it is as clear as daylight, and not the least doubt remaining. 
 I have, a while ago, quoted from the Manual (page 47, 113) that 
 the lodge declares it to be its chief aim to imbue the minds of the 
 brethren with proper conceptions of their powers and capabilities, 
 and to inculcate the idea that they are capable of doing good. 
 It teaches, therefore, that man is of himself capable of doing 
 good. What, however, is the teaching of the sacred Scripture ? 
 It says (Rom. 3:12): "They are all gone out of the way ; they 
 are together become unprofitable ; there is none that doeth good, 
 no, not one." In the second Epistle to the Corinthians, chap. 3, 
 the same man of God says that we are not even capable of thinking 
 anything good, as of ourselves. And the reason for this is, because 
 we are conceived and born in sin (Ps. 51); because the thoughts 
 and imaginations of the heart of man are evil from his youth, and 
 continually (Gen. 6:8); and because out of the heart proceed evil 
 thoughts, all sins and abominations (Matt. 15 : 19). If, now, the 
 source, namely, the heart, be evil, how can the actions be good which 
 spring from a corrupt and depraved source ? The lodge, however, 
 in direct contradiction to the word of God, teaches : Man of himself 
 is capable of doing good. And further: whoever, as a genuine 
 Odd Fellow, does good ; that is, whoever pays his fees when due, 
 
39 
 
 i 
 
 watches, as is his duty, with the sick when his turn comes, guards 
 against grave offences, and endeavors to lead a respectable life, 
 he shall be saved. It would require hours, should I read you all 
 the passages that teach this doctrine. To prove it, I will adduce 
 but a few. In the Pocket Companion, on page 27, it is said : 
 " They (the doctrines of the lodge) lead him to obedience of the 
 commandments of his Divine Maker, in which HE CANNOT FAIL 
 to be blessed in life, death and eternity." On page 41 ff. 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 
 the full assurance of a blessed future" He can then, according 
 page 138, "come up through it with joy and gladness to the land 
 of eternal light" and meets, according to page 182, " with an 
 eternal welcome in that * angel land/ and there rests, reclining 
 his head "on the satisfactory pillow of contentment." In the 
 Manual, page 157, it is said : "With ' a conscience void of offence 
 toward God and man/ he lives, . .. . and his departure from earth 
 is but a translation to a blissful immortality." Here, in clear 
 and unmistakable terms, it is said that every Odd Fellow who 
 comes up to his duties will be saved, let him have a sense of his 
 sinfulness or not, let him repent or not, let him believe in Christ 
 or not. About this the lodge does not concern itself, if he only 
 is and remains a good Odd Fellow, does not withdraw from the 
 lodge (for by doing so he is, according to the declaration of the 
 lodge, "dead") ; if he faithfully pays his fees, and is obedient to 
 the lodge in all things ; then he will be saved. The lodge there- 
 fore teaches a salvation, not through Christ, but without Christ; 
 not by the means of grace, the word of God and the holy Sacra- 
 ments, but without these ; not by repentance and faith, but 
 without repentance and faith. It therefore denies the only true 
 way to salvation, and teaches a false way. It pretends to teach 
 the way to heaven, but really teaches the way to hell ; pretends 
 to be a guide to the kingdom of heaven, arid leads straight down 
 
40 
 
 to everlasting destruction. Oh, I shudder when I think of it, 
 that through this satanic doctrine so many weak Christian souls 
 are led astray, and, if they continue in these fundamental here- 
 sies, must finally be lost to all eternity. What a dreadful sentence 
 will, on the judgment day be pronounced against the lodge which 
 thus tramples the word of God under foot, which for itself bars 
 the way to Heaven by such false teachings, and restlessly works 
 night and day to draw more souls into its net. The word of God 
 leaves us no merit as regards our salvation, and teaches that we 
 can be saved alone by grace. We read, for example (Tit. 3:5): 
 " Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but accord- 
 ing to his mercy he saved us." In Eph. 2:8, 9, it says : " For 
 by grace are ye saved through faith ; and that not of yourselves, 
 it is the gift of God. Not of works, lest any man should boast." 
 In Gal. 2 : 16, says the Apostle : " Knowing that a man is not 
 justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus 
 Christ." In John 8 : 36 it is written : " He that bclieveih on 
 the Son, hath everlasting life." In these and similar texts, all 
 our own merit is cut off, and we are alone pointed to the grace of 
 God in Christ, to his bloody merits, sufferings and death. And 
 only to him who, by faith, apprehends this truth, and remains 
 faithful to the end, so that he can say with Paul (2 Tim 4:7, 8), 
 " I have kept the faith," to him, through grace, shall the crown 
 of everlasting life be given. But, as your lodge teaches the direct 
 opposite of this way to salvation, and therefore preaches another 
 gospel, the dreadful words which you will find in Gal. 1 : 8, 9, 
 will apply to it also. I entreat you to read and reflect on them 
 before it is too late. 
 
FIFTH DIALOGUE. 
 
 So likewiRe ye, when ye shall have done all things 
 which are commanded you, say, We are unprofita- 
 ble servants : we have done that which was our 
 duty to do. Luke 17 : 10. 
 
 Ernest. This time we shall treat of the benevolence of our 
 order, shall we not ? 
 
 Christian. Yes, sir. 
 
 E. I am very glad of it, for now I can, for once, put in a 
 word. The last time, you had it nearly all to yourself. 
 
 Oh. 1 will gladly let you say all you have to say, only I 
 entreat you to speak of good works in the sense of the holy Scrip- 
 tures. 
 
 E. That I intend to do. 
 
 Oh. Then please communicate to me, in a clear and thorough 
 manner, your good works, your deeds of benevolence and charity. 
 
 E. Gladly. I have informed you repeatedly that our order 
 is a society whose object is mutual aid and benevolence, and has 
 already been the means of doing much good, and is continually 
 doing so. Therefore it is most desirable that every one should 
 join it, in order that the necessary means may be increased, and 
 the order extend its benefits farther and farther ; yes, gradually 
 encircle the earth in Friendship, Love and Truth. I hope now 
 to convince you that these are not mere empty words, but facts. 
 In the first place, that is no insignificant benefit^ that, when I am 
 
42 
 
 ill, t receive regularly three or five dollars every week during my 
 whole sickness ; upon which sum a family, that is not over large, 
 can comfortably subsist for a period, if they exercise a little 
 economy. So, also, it is not lightly to be esteemed, that during 
 my illness, if necessary, or if I desire it, every night two brothers 
 Watch by my bedside to nurse me, and with pleasure procure for 
 me every possible alleviation of my sufferings. And, to have 
 these night-watchers, my wife need not run from house to house 
 to beg people to come, nor to pay these watchers a high price, as 
 is so frequently the case ; no, the lodge provides them of its own 
 accord, so soon as I have reported myself sick, or any of the 
 brothers have found it out. Should I die, my wife need not 
 worry where to get the necessary funds to defray the funeral ex- 
 penses ; the lodge sends her the thirty or fifty dollars to the house. 
 Indeed, if she finds it too hard to make the arrangements for thr* 
 funeral, the lodge with great readiness, regarding it as a charitable 
 act, does it for her, and in a solemn and honorable way. In the 
 second place, it is an incalculable benefit, that the widow, accord- 
 ing to her necessities, receives regularly her monthly assistance, 
 so that she can look into the dark future without care for suste- 
 nance. Oh, how many a widow, after her husband's death, has 
 had to battle with the most terrible cares ! How many struggle 
 almost desperately for the daily morsel for themselves and their 
 poor children ! How many have been driven by their necessities, 
 in despair, to murder their children and to commit suicide ! How 
 many a poor widow is, besides, oppressed and robbed by merciless 
 wretches, because she has no protector ! Ah, all this none of our 
 widows has to fear. The lodge provides for them, protects and 
 helps them. Then it is another great benefit, that the lodge pro- 
 vides for the orphans' temporal and spiritual wants Should, for 
 example, the mother not be able or willing to educate the children, 
 the lodge, at her desire, takes their education into its own hands, 
 sends them to proper schools and academies, and sees that they 
 
43 
 
 are well taught and trained Before I became a member of the 
 lodge, I used to think, with great anxiety of mind, of my perhaps 
 speedy death, because I was then unable to leave enough for the 
 support of my dear family. But now, let me die when I may, I 
 have no further anxiety on this score, for I know that they are 
 provided for. You cannot believe what tranquillity it affords one 
 to know his family is provided for. Yes, I could almost say, I 
 thank God that I have learned to know the lodge and become a 
 member of it. 
 
 But the benefactions and charitable deeds of our order extend 
 farther. We are brothers, have devoted our lives to the brother- 
 hood, and solemnly promised to stand by, and assist each other 
 where we possibly can. We derive great advantages therefrom. 
 For example, if I wish to purchase anything, I go to a brother, 
 and I know he will not cheat me, and will give me the goods as 
 cheap as he can afford. If one is a laborer or mechanic, he can 
 depend upon it, in case there are many lodge members in the 
 place, that he will obtain work sooner, have more of it, and be 
 better paid for it, if he belong to the lodge, than if he be not a 
 member. And the beauty of it is, t>hat our order extends far and 
 near, not only over the United States, but also to Canada, Aus- 
 tralia, Germany and Switzerland. And in other countries a com- 
 mencement to introduce it has already been made. Thus, if a 
 member finds no work in our State and goes to another, the 
 brothers are immediately at hand to assist him and to procure 
 work for him. If any one is on a journey and becomes sick, he 
 is never forsaken ; in every place he finds brothers who are ready 
 to help him. But we do not only support the members of our 
 order; no, we assist others likewise. Our order has expended 
 considerable sums on such that suffered want or misfortune and 
 who were not members; has supported many widows and orphans 
 both in and outside of the order. But, as figures are said not to 
 lie, I will furnish you &ome. Our order supported, for example, 
 
44 
 
 from June, 1867, until June, 1868, 21,344 members and 3,911 
 families. The members received $458,538.28; the families, 
 $113,275.01; for the education of orphans, $19,957 were ex- 
 pended, and for the funerals of deceased brothers the sum of 
 $103,847.50. The total amount of aid was $695,618.26, whilst 
 the receipts for the same period reached the sum of $2,110,951.66. 
 In the second following year, which ended with the 30th of June, 
 1870, 25,019 brothers were aided with $579,043.81, and 3,876 
 families of widows with $122,043.65; the orphans' fund received 
 $19,444.16; the funeral expenses amounted to $132,659.21. 
 Total amount for aid was $859,906. 86 ; total amount of receipts, 
 $2,724,419 .46. For 1872, the amount paid for aid was $1,503,- 
 471.40; whereas the income amounted to $4,291,071. 72. There 
 was, therefore, a surplus of $2,787,599. 72.* Well, I think these 
 figures speak for themselves. I would like to know if you can 
 name a similar association that accomplishes as much good as our 
 order; but you will probably be unable to find one. However, you 
 would be greatly mistaken, if you thought these were the only 
 advantages offered by the lodge. No ; the advantages and bless- 
 ings are not merely of a material, but also of a spiritual nature. 
 The lodge aims at the cultivation and perfection of its members 
 both mentally and morally ; its lessons and admonitions show how 
 we should live, as virtuous citizens, among our fellow-men ; yea, 
 it teaches us not only our duty toward our fellow-men, but also 
 better to know and fulfill our duties to God, as you will have seen 
 in our books. The intellectual horizon of the members is enlarged, 
 their minds improved ; superstition vanishes more and more ; 
 indeed the mind is directed to entirely new objects. Besides, 
 hundreds, yes thousands, by joining the lodge, are kept from bad 
 company, from frequenting drinking saloons, from gambling, 
 
 * See Proceedings of Annual Communication of the Grand Lod^e of the 
 1870, .page 4379 ? and 1873, page 5666. 
 
45 
 
 drinking, &c. I could cite much more to show you the benefits 
 and charities of the order, and its blessed effects at home and 
 abroad. But to be brief, the Order of Odd Fellows is one of the 
 most benevolent associations, in material as well as spiritual, in 
 temporal as well as moral results, which exists upon earth, and I 
 hope this brief account will have convinced you of this fact. 
 
 Ch. We must now necessarily consider the boasted " benefits, " 
 ''good works" and "charitable deeds" one by one, and examine 
 them strictly; for "all is not gold that glitters." All this is, 
 however, nothing new to me, for I know it all from your writings. 
 In the first place, I would refer to an expression which you made 
 use of toward the close of your panegyric, namely, that the order 
 teaches also duties toward God. I am surprised that you still 
 reckon this among the good works, as you, as a Christian, must 
 now well know that it is a Satanic work, because the lodge knows 
 only an idol of human reason, and therefore is guilty of idolatry 
 every time it teaches the knowledge of him, and seeks to lead 
 others into idolatry every time it demands the fulfillment of duties 
 toward this idol. You remarked, very truly, that the mind of 
 the lodge members is turned into an entirely different direction. 
 The Christian's mind is turned to the Lord Jesus, to faith in him. 
 He loves his Savior, who has first loved him, and seeks obediently 
 to follow him. This turn of mind, gradually and almost unob- 
 servedly, receives another direction, after uniting with the lodge. 
 For his Lord Jesus, the Savior of sinners, he suffers an "exam- 
 ple" to be substituted ; in the place of the living God, an idol of 
 human reason. While formerly his faith clung to and received 
 God's word with humility, smart and refined reason now assumes 
 the place of God's word and of living faith, and he begins to pass 
 judgment upon and to criticise God's word, its preaching, and the 
 holy Sacraments. And it usually does not take long before he 
 begins to consider himself highly enlightened, becomes indifferent 
 to the Word and Sacraments ; indeed he soon learns to despise 
 
46 
 
 them. It is not "superstition" that vanishes with the lodge 
 members, but faith, and infidelity steps into its place. That this 
 is true, experience proves. I need only ask you, upon your con- 
 science, whether it is not your experience, that true faith, sincere 
 love for the preaching of the divine word and for the sacraments, 
 generally die away when one unites with the lodge, and I am con- 
 vinced you must answer " Yes." This is the reason why one so 
 rarely meets with a Free Mason or Odd Fellow who really loves 
 the preaching of repentance and faith, and who holds the church 
 dearer than the lodge. The experience, alas ! is quite common, 
 that the members hold the lodge dearer than the church, with her 
 pure word and sacraments, with her preaching of repentance and 
 faith, of forgiveness of sins, life and salvation. Did not the editor 
 of " Heart and Hand " declare, in the number of July 22d, 1871, 
 that he would much rather leave the church than the lodge? Is 
 not this truly frightful ! That you, having been more than ten 
 years connected with the lodge, still stand as you do, cling to the 
 church and the word of God, is a wonder of God's grace, a very 
 rare exception, for which we ought to heartily thank God. But 
 let us now look at the benefactions singly and more closely. You 
 said that members in sickness receive their weekly aid. Where 
 does the lodge get the money which it pays in cases of sickness ? 
 
 E. Why, every member must pay his fixed contribution every 
 week. 
 
 Ch. And for that he receives the assistance in case of sick- 
 ness ? 
 
 E. Yes, sir. 
 
 Ck. Well, then no sensible man can call that a benefaction^ 
 yea, even a deed of charity or a good work. That is nothing 
 more than a mutual contract : A member pays weekly so and so 
 much, and when he is sick, receives therefor so and so much. It 
 would certainly never come into any one's mind to call that a 
 good work, when two, three or more persons enter into partner- 
 
47 
 
 ship to engage in business, and every one pays a certain sum, and 
 shares in the profits of the concern according to the payment he 
 made. Would the company, when they pay one his share of the 
 profits, say to him, See what a benefit we confer upon you by giv- 
 ing you so much money? Certainly not. It is therefore ridicu- 
 lous when the lodge boasts of its benefactions and charities, where 
 it has indeed done no deed of charity, but simply come up to the 
 obligations of its contract. 
 
 E. But it is a benefit for me, when I, in case of sickness, 
 receive aid. 
 
 Ch. If it is a benefit for you, you have to thank yourself, and 
 not the lodge, for it ; for, had you paid nothing, you would have 
 received nothing. 
 
 E. But had the lodge not existed, I could not have paid, and 
 therefore could not have received anything, and in so far, I must 
 consider it a benefit, and am grateful to the lodge for it. 
 
 Ch. For that it needs no lodge, with its false teachings and 
 secret dealings. If one must absolutely belong to a society, there 
 are other societies enough, such as societies for assistance in sick- 
 ness, laborers 7 unions, and so forth. How you can consider your- 
 self indebted to the lodge, I cannot comprehend. I might with 
 as good reason say, the lodge is indebted to you, because you 
 have contributed to it. Indeed it is really ludicrous, that you 
 make such an absurd boasting of your benevolence, your deeds of 
 charity and good works ; and it is nothing but pitiful braggadocio, 
 by which you want to catch the foolish and to induce them to 
 join. What has become, then, of your motto, ' Truth "? I see 
 nothing but falsehood. 
 
 E. If you will not let our mutual aid pass as deeds of benevo- 
 lence and charity, you must certainly acknowledge what the lodge 
 doee for widows and orphans as such. The lodge has entered into 
 no obligation with me to give my wife, after my death, a certain 
 sum monthly, and yet it does so, if there is need of it. Still less 
 
48 
 
 has contraticted to provide for and to educate my children, and 
 yet it does so if necessary. All this it does for hundreds and 
 thousands of widows and orphans, from pure love. 
 
 Ch. I cannot say that that is a work of love. 
 
 E. Well, you really must be struck with blindness, if you can- 
 not see that ! 
 
 Ch. Yes, sir, I am a peculiar man, who cannot declare any- 
 thing to be a good work or deed of charity, unless the Scripture 
 declares it to be such. 
 
 E. Well, neither would I declare any other to be good. But 
 the Scripture says expressly that that is pure religion, when one 
 cares for the widows and orphans. 
 
 Ch. We must first gain a clear idea of what the Scriptures 
 call a good work or deed of charity. Tell me, what is a good 
 work? 
 
 E. Why, when, for example, we give to a poor person bread, 
 provisions or money. 
 
 Ch. Is that then a good work, if somebody, from whatever 
 motive, gives a poor man ten dollars ? 
 
 E. Certainly, that is a good work. 
 
 Ch. Tell me, then, why do you contribute that the widows 
 and orphans of the brotherhood may be helped ? 
 
 E. Because it is my duty as a Christian, because the widows 
 and orphans need it, and because it will be very pleasant for my 
 own family to receive aid, should they stand in need of it. 
 
 Ch. Would you contribute to the support of the widows and 
 orphans of the members of the lodge, if you had no hope that 
 your own family, in case of need, would be supported after your 
 death ? 
 
 E. I must honestly confess that in that case I would not con- 
 tribute. I would invest my savings in some other way, that my 
 family could have the benefit of them after my death. 
 
 Ch. Therefore you give to the lodge that you may receive it 
 
49 
 
 again ; give something to the widows and orphans, that your own 
 may receive something, if they should need it. is it not so ? 
 
 E. Certainly. 
 
 Ch. Do you believe that giving thus is a good work ? 
 
 E. I think so. It certainly comes good to the widows and 
 orphans, and benefits them, if they receive so and so much a 
 month. 
 
 Ch. The question here is not, whether it benefits them, but 
 whether it is a good work, and such a one as Grod himself declares 
 in his word to be good, and has promised to reward in Heaven. 
 Hear what the Lord Jesus says (Luke 6 : 33-35) : " And if ye 
 do good to them which do good to you, what thank have ye ? for 
 sinners also do even the same. And if ye lend to them of whom 
 ye hope to receive, what thank have ye ? for sinners also lend to 
 sinners, to receive as much again. But love ye your enemies, and 
 do good and lend, hoping for nothing again ; and your reward 
 shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest.' 7 In 
 the time of Christ there were also such, who lent and gave because 
 they hoped to receive it again. And now the Lord Jesus says, if 
 ye give, hoping to receive again, what thank have ye ? The pub- 
 licans and gross sinners do the same ; you have your reward. 
 Exactly the same you do in your lodge : you give in order to 
 receive again, and then boast of it as of a good work. The Lord 
 Jesus, however, places you, in this respect, on a level with the 
 publicans and such as live in open sin. Experience teaches the 
 truth of what the Lord says ; for one great sinner helps the other. 
 It would certainly be difficult to find a thief who would not assist 
 his thievish companions, in the hope of receiving aid from them 
 at some other time. You do not give out of love to those that 
 are widows and orphans, but (strictly speaking) only from love 
 to your own family, from love to your own flesh and blood. 
 Surely it cannot be difficult for you to perceive, that to pay your 
 money in order to receive again, is not a good work. 
 
50 
 
 E. Well, these are queer views ! You place us on a level with 
 thieves and robbers ; indeed you will end by declaring us all to be 
 thieves. 
 
 Oh. I do not declare you to be thieves. When you, however, 
 assert that these your payments are good works, the Lord Jesus 
 places your so-called good works in the same category with the 
 good works of sinners and publicans, who, in their manner, do 
 exactly the same. 
 
 E. I would really like to know what you consider to be good 
 works. You will, perhaps, not even consider that a good work 
 when the lodge, for instance, in public calamities, such as devas- 
 tations through fire or water, assists the sufferers who do not belong 
 to the lodge, and does so, often very liberally and in large sums, 
 for which it certainly does not receive anything in return. 
 
 Oh. Even that, according to the Holy Scriptures, I cannot 
 declare to be a good work. 
 
 E. Why not ? 
 
 Oh. Because the Holy Scripture declares (Rom. 14 : 23) : 
 "Whatsoever is not of faith is sin." The assistance to the suf- 
 ferers which the lodge perhaps now and then bestows, cannot 
 spring from faith in Jesus Christ, because it neither has nor wants 
 to have Jesus, but rejects him and does not believe in him. All 
 your much vaunted good works proceed from unbelief, and there- 
 fore, in the sight of God, are nothing but sin. 
 
 E. Do you really think that those who do not believe in 
 Christ, are incapable of doing good works ? 
 
 Oh. No unbeliever can perform such works as God recognizes 
 to be good and rewards in Heaven. He may perform works which 
 the world calls good, extols and praises ; but with these we have 
 nothing to do. To perform works which are recognized by God 
 and rewarded in Heaven, is impossible to an unbeliever, simply 
 because he does not believe in Christ. 
 
 E. How will you prove that ? 
 
51 
 
 Ch. Simply by the holy Scriptures, i have just quoted what 
 the Apostle says, " Whatsoever is not of faith is sin." There- 
 fore, as the works of an unbeliever and the works of the Lodge 
 do not spring from faith in Christ Jesus, they are sinful. The 
 Lord Jesus says (John 15 : 5) : " Without me ye can do nothing." 
 Therefore, as the lodge performs all its works without Christ, we 
 can accordingly pronounce them to be lost, unprofitable, yea, cor- 
 rupt and rotten works. What do you think V Can we procure 
 good drinking water from a foul spring or a mud puddle ? 
 
 E. No, certainly not. 
 
 Ch. Now, behold ! our hearts, by nature, are just such foul 
 springs ; all evil, at least in its germ, dwells in them, because we 
 are corrupt through sin. From this evil source no good work can 
 proceed, until the Lord Jesus by his word and spirit has converted 
 this evil source into a good one. This, however, only takes place 
 when he brings us to true repentance and conversion, grants us 
 forgiveness of our sins, renews and changes us so that we are 
 enabled to say: " Old things have passed away, all things have 
 become new." In this manner the Holy Spirit makes us capable 
 of performing good works, that is, works which are done in and 
 through faith in Christ Jesus, to which we are constrained from 
 ardent love to him, who has first loved us ; which serve to honor 
 God and to benefit our neighbor, and whereby we would fain show 
 the gratitude we owe to God. Such truly believing Christians 
 give to the poor, not to receive again, but because they love Christ 
 and in Christ the poor brethren, as redeemed children of God and 
 heirs of salvation. Such Christians feed the hungry, give drink 
 to the thirsty, clothe the naked, give to the poor, help the widows 
 and orphans, bury the dead, not that the same may be done to 
 them, but from grateful love to Christ. They experience daily 
 how much good the Lord Jesus bestows upon them out of pure 
 love ; they would fain show their gratitude to him for this love 
 by doing good to his members. To such Christians the Lord will 
 
52 
 
 say, on the judgment day : "I was an hungered and ye gave me 
 meat; I was thirsty and ye gave me drink : I was a stranger and 
 ye took me in, naked and ye clothed me ; I was sick and ye visited 
 me; I was in prison and ye came unto me." " Inasmuch as ye 
 have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have 
 done it unto me" (Matt. 25). The Lord Jesus himself must 
 first make us fit and capable of doing good works, as is clearly 
 taught in the Scriptures ; for example, Eph. 2 : 19, Tit. 2 : 14, 
 Heb. 18 : 21. The lodge, however, will not suffer Jesus Christ to 
 make it fit and capable to do them ; therefore it is impossible that 
 it should perform good works. Would you assert that the lodge, 
 for Christ's sake, from love to him, aids and assists anybody ? 
 
 E. I really do not know what to answer you ; but this I do 
 know, that the Christian congregations do not relieve distress as 
 they should do. And for this reason I think we should gratefully 
 acknowledge it when the lodge takes hold and helps to mitigate 
 suffering. 
 
 Ch. You are afraid to approach the matter, as a cat is afraid 
 to touch the hot porridge. Pray stick to the point. First an- 
 swer my question, whether you believe the lodge aids and assists 
 anybody for Christ's sake. Afterward we may, for all 1 care, 
 consider in how far the Christian congregations come up to their 
 duties. Do you, then, believe that the lodge gives aid for ChrisVs 
 sake? 
 
 E. Well, I could not very well assert that ; neither can we 
 say that of any other aid or insurance society. 
 
 Ch. Very well. If you concede, therefore, that the lodge 
 does not help for Christ's sake, then you must also concede that 
 in doing so it does no good works ; that your boasting about good 
 works is falsehood, and contrary to the Word of God, and is only 
 done to throw sand into other people's eyes. Indeed, if you will 
 be honest, you must also concede that your charities must displease 
 God, because they proceed from unbelief, and only serve selfish 
 
53 
 
 purposes. In respect to other aid and insurance associations, I 
 would only observe, that they come under the same condemnation, 
 so soon as they boast of their works as good works which will take 
 them to Heaven. But let us look a little closer at your charities. 
 It is true, you have expended a considerable sum for charitable 
 purposes. How many brothers did you say were supported during 
 the year ending with the 30th of June, 1870? 
 
 E. During that year, 25,091 brothers received $579,- 
 043.81. 
 
 Ch. Were all of them in need of assistance, indigent, or suf- 
 fering want ? 
 
 E. That I do not know. With us, every one receives assist- 
 ance so soon as he is sick, let him be rich or poor. Every one 
 pays alike and every one receives alike. 
 
 Ch. Indeed ! Then among these 25,000 brothers perhaps 
 there were scarcely ten who were really in need of it ? 
 
 E. That might possibly be. 
 
 Ch. Then you give to the rich and opulent, who belong to 
 your lodge, assistance, arid leave the poor who do not belong to 
 it, to starve ! The wocds of the Lord, " The poor have ye always 
 with you," do not concern you. You support the rich, the poor 
 may starve and freeze. A fine specimen of charity ! 
 
 E. If the poor had joined the lodge, they would, in case of 
 sickness, receive the same assistance. 
 
 Ch. Then your charity extends just as far as the lodge ; where 
 that ends, your charity stops too. Where do you find all this in 
 the Bible, that you, for example, without committing sin, can 
 support the rich and leave the poor to hunger and freeze, or that 
 you are right in making the lodge the measure and limit of your 
 charity ? No ; the Lord Jesus has preached a far better charity, 
 namely, to aid and serve all the poor and needy ; as we have oppor- 
 tunity, to do good to all men, and not to limit and mete out our 
 eharity as you do, Still another peculiarity of the odd love of 
 
54 
 
 you Odd Fellows, I have noticed. Tell me, do you admit sickly 
 or aged persons into your lodge ? 
 
 E. Sickly persons, such as, for example, suffer from chronic 
 diseases or defects, are not accepted, according to a long-estab- 
 lished custom of our order (see Digest, pp. 239, 200) ; neither, 
 as a rule, are such as are not able to make their living ; and per- 
 sons above fifty years are generally not admitted, only in special 
 cases, and then only as not entitled to aid (see Digest, pp. 241, 
 250 ff.). 
 
 Ch. Why do you not receive such persons ? 
 
 E. The existence of the respective lodges would be endan- 
 gered ; for our means are not as yet so extensive as to afford the 
 great amount of pecuniary aid such persons require. 
 
 Ch. Fine love that ! The really needy, such as sickly and 
 aged persons, are therefore, by law and long-established custom 
 of your order, as a maxim, excluded from your "benevolent 
 society'" ! 
 
 E. We can support them without their belonging to the lodge, 
 and that is really done. 
 
 Ch. I believe you can ; whether it is done, however, and in 
 how far, these are other questions. But I will not jud^e concern- 
 ing that ; it does not at present concern me. I am mainly speak- 
 ing about your principles ; and, that they are not based upon 
 charity, but only upon selfishness, is clearly to be seen. As you 
 have informed me, the order, in the year J.869 1870, received 
 $2,724,419.46, and in aiding brothers, families and orphans, 
 $859,906.86 were expended. That leaves a surplus of $1,864,- 
 512.00. What has become of this surplus and of the surplus of 
 former years? 
 
 E~ The order has many other expenses. I will mention, by 
 way of example, only a few. Every lodge must procure a hall, 
 either erecting one itself, and that costs a great deal of money, or 
 renting one, and that is expensive too. Every lodge has its regalia 
 
55 
 
 which are also very costly. Every lodge pays its secretary, every 
 State Grand Lodge its Grand Secretary and other grand officers. 
 The Grand Lodge of the United States has its secretary and other 
 employees to pay. The latter receives annually $3,000, and the 
 secretaries of the State Grand Lodges commonly receive from $500 
 to $2,000.* The traveling expenses of all the officers, when travel- 
 ing in the service of the order, are also paid. The conventions 
 also cost a great deal of money. The convention of the Grand 
 Lodge, in September, 1873, which was held in Baltimore, and 
 lasted seven days, cost, alone, $16,995.40. For the current 
 expenses (not charities) $47,572.40 were allowed, or more yet, if 
 required, f The Grand Lodge of the United States has also money 
 on interest, but that is, comparatively, no large amount. 
 
 Ch. A very simple calculation shows, therefore, that not even 
 the third part of what you pay in is expended in charities. When 
 you, therefore, have paid in, let me say $300 to the lodge, you or 
 your family receive, on an average, $95 back. The $205 which 
 you paid over and above that, are swallowed up by salaries, luxu- 
 rious buildings and silly regalia, and such tomfoolery. And, as 
 you support far more wealthy and rich, than really poor people, 
 we may assume that when a member has paid in $300, the poor 
 receive, on an average, $15, or $20 at the utmost, therefrom. 
 See ! that is your benevolence, when brought to the light ! 
 Indeed I cannot imagine how you, a little while ago, could say 
 that joining the lodge was advantageous. It brings nothing but 
 loss upon loss, and makes one guilty of the great injustice, that 
 one gives to the wealthy and withholds from the poor. No ; I 
 really thought you had more sense and a better knowledge of 
 
 * See Minutes of the Grand Lodge of I. O. O. F. of Pennsylvania, 1871, - 
 pp. 210,411, 429. 
 
 f Proceedings of Annual Communication of the Grand Lodge of the 
 United States, 1873 pp. 5943 and 5898. 
 
56 
 
 arithmetic ! Whoever wants to get rid of his money and to pro- 
 mote injustice, let him join ; but who, on the contrary, will not 
 squander his means or further injustice, let him keep away from it.. 
 Can you mention to me one insurance or mutual aid society which 
 is so enormously expensive as yours, where one does not even 
 receive the third part of what he has paid in ? 
 
 E. I am not much acquainted with other insurance societies ; 
 but I think you look upon the whole matter in a wrong light. My 
 family might, for example, be in need of $300 ; then the lodge 
 would give it to them, even if I had not paid in as much. In 
 this case, the assistance would not be too dearly paid for. And 
 when you represent that to be injustice, that we grant support to 
 the wealthy, you are decidedly wrong. The lodge has obligated 
 itself to do so, and would do wrong if it did not meet its obliga- 
 tions. 
 
 Ch. You have always boasted of the benevolence of the Order 
 in general, and now, all at once, you take a particular example. 
 That will not do ; we must look at the thing in general. Can you 
 dispute the fact, that the lodge does not even expend one-third 
 of its income for benevolent objects ? 
 
 E. That I certainly cannot do. It is a fact. 
 
 Ch. Very good. Then it is proved beyond contradiction that 
 j-oining the lodge occasions loss upon loss. And if you have obli- 
 gations toward the rich and wealthy, meet them, for all 1 care ; but 
 I beg you, do not call that benevolence, yea, even a deed of charity. 
 That is an ungodly falsehood. But let us pass on to other points 
 of your so-called benevolence, which are of higher importance 
 than money or money's worth. You said that the lodge, if 
 requested, cares for the education of orphans, and sends them to 
 academies and schools. What kind of schools are they ? 
 
 E. We have already several academies and schools to which we 
 send them. These institutions are provided with excellent teachers, 
 capable of imparting valuable instruction to the scholars. 
 
57 
 
 Oh. Do they also give religious instruction ? 
 
 E. A systematic course of religious instruction is not given, 
 but the whole instruction is in a certain sense religious ; however, 
 nothing sectarian is taught. 
 
 Ch. Is the Bible also used there ? 
 
 E. For doctrinal purposes, or for the purpose of instruction 
 or as a reading-book it is not used. 
 
 Ch. What is, then, taught? 
 
 E. The same as is taught in other schools, such as reading, 
 writing, arithmetic, geography, history, and the like ; in short, 
 everything that tends to make the children intelligent citizens and 
 upright men, and to qualify them to earn their living in a respecta- 
 ble manner. 
 
 Ch. Then you have heathenish schools, such as, for example, 
 the Greeks and Romans had. 
 
 E. What ! you call our schools heathenish ? No ; I tell you, 
 the teachers and managers of the schools are Christians and no 
 Heathens. 
 
 Ch. Do the teachers and managers belong to the lodge, and 
 are the schools managed and supported by the lodge ? 
 
 E. Certainly. 
 
 Ch. Well, then, they may be Christians by name. But, as 
 the lodge has long since rejected the Lord Jesus Christ, and as 
 each member approves of that and confesses, with the lodge, that 
 he is saved by his works, they are apostate Christians, and not a 
 hair's breadth better than the Heathen. Indeed, I consider them 
 to be still worse than Heathen, because they have the word of 
 God, but do not believe it, and will not be governed by it ; and 
 that we cannot say of the Heathen. Do you know what makes a 
 school a Christian school ? 
 
 E. No ; what does ? 
 
 Ch. When the word of God rules therein, and everything is 
 conducted according to it : Instruction, praise, blame, punishment 
 
58 
 
 and reward. When the school considers it its highest aim to 
 instruct the scholars in the word of God and the way to salvation, 
 to lead the children as lambs of Christ to Jesus, to implant in 
 them faith in and love to him, that he may save them. Is that 
 also the highest aim of your schools ? 
 
 E. I could not say that it is. 
 
 Ch. Then you must surely comprehend that your schools are 
 not Christian, but teach and instruct without Christ ; therefore 
 they are on a level with the heathen schools of the Greeks and 
 Romans. Do you think you can answer for it, that you allow the 
 children to grow up without God's word and without pointing them 
 to the only Savior of sinners ? 
 
 E. I do not know. We give them the necessary education 
 in all things pertaining to this life, and leave it to the scholars, at 
 some later period, to form or to choose their own religion. 
 
 Ch. Do you think you act in accordance with the word of God 
 by so doing ? 
 
 E. What passage speaks against it ? 
 
 Ch. In Matthew 28 : 19, 20 the Lord Jesus says : " Go ye, 
 therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the 
 Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost : Teaching them 
 to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you." Do 
 you have your children baptized ? 
 
 E. To be sure we do. 
 
 Ch. Then it is the more your duty to teach them God's word, 
 or to see that it is done. See, here is the express command of 
 Christ : " Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have 
 commanded you." Therefore, every one who undertakes to instruct 
 or to educate children, has the express commandment of God, and 
 therefore the sacred duty, to "teach them to observe all things 
 which Christ commanded." What Christ has commanded is con- 
 tained in the holy Scriptures, and it is the express command of 
 God that we impress the doctrines of the holy Scriptures oil the 
 
so 
 
 children's minds. And, that this must be done while they are 
 children, and that we dare not delay it until they are grown up, 
 we learn from many other passages ; for example, Mark 10 : 14 : 
 " Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not." 
 Eph. 6:4: " Ye fathers, bring them up (jour children) in the 
 nurture and admonition of the Lord." Joh 19 : 15 ; Deut. 6:7; 
 Ps. 78 : 3, 4. Oh, I shudder when I think of the threefold, grave 
 sin you commit in your schools against God, against the poor chil- 
 dren and against yourselves. You sin frightfully against God, in 
 acting in direct opposition to his plain command. You sin in an 
 unjustifiable manner against the poor children, when you, instead 
 of leading them to Jesus, keep them away from him ; instead 
 of teaching them the way to Heaven, namely, repentance and 
 faith, conduct them in the damnable way of self-righteousness ! 
 Oh, never, never can you answer for it before the judgment seat 
 of Christ. Believe me, these children, who are led astray by you 
 and kept away from Christ, willl rise up against you in the judg- 
 ment day, and wherewith will you justify yourselves? Having 
 offended the little ones who believed in Christ, the dread sentence 
 must be passed on you which the Lord announces in Matt. 18 : 6. 
 You also sin no less terribly against yourselves, against your own 
 immortal souls, which you, by such disobedience toward God, 
 deliver to eternal condemnation. Oh, I entreat you to reflect, 
 before it is too late 
 
 E. Well, I do not know that it is quite so bad. 
 
 Ch. Believe me, it is so bad, yea, even much worse than I am 
 able to tell you. But to another point. You have also reckoned 
 among the benefactions of the order, that the lodge teaches its 
 members to know God, his will, and their duties toward him. 
 And so it is said also in your books. To be sure, I said some- 
 thing about it a while ago, but it can do no harm to recur to it. 
 You surely do not mean to sav that the lodge teaches to know the 
 Triune God ? 
 
60 
 
 E. I do not mean to say that. It teaches to know one God, 
 the Creator and Preserver of the Universe. Should it teach a 
 Triune God, it would thereby enter into the number of Christian 
 sects ; but that it will not do. It stands above parties. 
 
 Ch. Whence does the lodge derive its knowledge of this one 
 God, Creator and Preserver of the Universe ? 
 
 E. From nature, reason and the Bible. 
 
 Oh. You have therefore learned from nature, by means of 
 your reason, that there is one God. On the contrary, the ancient 
 Greeks and Romans, our heathen forefathers, and other heathen 
 nations, have learned by means of their reason, and from nature, 
 that there is not one, but many Gods. Who, then, is right? The 
 Heathen have reason just as well as you, and live in nature just 
 as well as you do. 
 
 E. But we use the Bible, which the heathen nations did not 
 have. 
 
 Ch. But you know what kind of a God the Bible teaches, do 
 you not ? 
 
 E. The Bible teaches a Triune God, as I told you before. 
 The lodge, however, uses only such passages where it is said that 
 God is one. It cannot teach the doctrine of the Triune God, 
 because Jews and others, who do not believe in the Bible, belong 
 to it. 
 
 Ch. You confess, therefore, yourself, and are aware that the 
 lodge does not teach the God who has revealed himself unto us in 
 the holy Scriptures. The God of the lodge is therefore none other 
 than " Allah," whom Mahommed teaches. He also borrowed his 
 doctrine concerning God, or rather his idolatry, from Heathenism, 
 Judaism and Christianity. It is, however, an abominable sin to 
 teach another God than the Scriptures do. It is a gross trans- 
 gression of the first commandment, which the holy and just God 
 cannot leave unpunished. You thereby revolt against the high 
 majesty of God himself, rob him of his honor, tread it under 
 
61 
 
 foot, and make an idol of him. Surely the weighty words in Gal. 
 1 : 8, 9, do also apply to you. 
 
 E. Well, for your consolation, I can tell you that very little 
 time is spent in this instruction concerning God. The principal 
 matters that we are occupied with are of quite a different nature. 
 
 Oh. That is indeed poor comfort. In reality, it matters very 
 little whether the lodge in every session teaches to know its idol, 
 Which every one shapes for himself by means of his reason, or 
 whether it does so once a month or once every year. The curse 
 of false doctrine rests upon you, until you, through the grace of 
 God, are brought to repentance ; and that I wish you with my 
 whole heart. You teach, also, to know the will of God ; from 
 whence do you derive your knowledge of his will ? 
 
 E. Why, from the ten commandments, to be sure. They are 
 read, and every one binds himself to live according to them. 
 
 CJi. It is shameful that you make use of the ten command- 
 ments, and reject the Triune God who gave them. How you 
 continually transgress the firsb commandment, we have just seen. 
 You lodge members do not keep the second and third a whit 
 better, to say nothing at all about the second table of the law. 
 You continually make use of the biblical name "God," and yet 
 do not believe in him ; you profane, therefore, his holy name, and 
 take it in vain. You use the Bible in the lodge, but do not believe 
 its words is not that shameful profanation and contempt for the 
 word of God ? Instead of deeming the word of God holy, wil- 
 lingly hearing and learning it, you abuse it by making use of it 
 and yet not believing it, and, according to your own words, not 
 submitting to its authority. You make use of it in order to give 
 yourselves th,3 semblance of Christianity, that such as still believe 
 in the holy Scripture nay think you are good Christians, and may 
 the easier be induced to join. Do you know what is the chief end 
 of the law V 
 
 E. Well, what is it V 
 
62 
 
 Oh. That it work in us knowledge of sin, as Paul says (Rom. 
 3 : 20), " By the law comes the knowledge of sin." And again 
 (Rom. 1:7): " I had not known sin but by the law ; for I had 
 not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet." 
 The law is to reveal to us especially the sin fulness of our own 
 hearts ; is to present to us the wrath and the everlasting punish- 
 ment of God for sin, that we may learn to know ourselves as "lost 
 and condemned sinners," and long for a Savior. Then will the 
 law become unto us what it should be, a schoolmaster, to bring 
 us unto Christ (Gal. 3 : 24). Then is man ready to receive the 
 Savior of sinners, who offers himself unto him in his word and 
 sacraments. Do they use the ten commandments in this way in 
 the lodge ? 
 
 E. That is certainly not the case. We make use of them to 
 encourage the members to a moral walk and conversation. 
 
 Ch. Then you quite forget the first and most important design 
 of the law, and intend to make men pious by the ten command- 
 ments and without Christ. In this you will never succeed. It 
 seems to me just as if a farmer would reap wheat, but sows thorns. 
 He will never attain his end. You use the ten commandments in 
 order to lead a virtuous life ; but for this purpose man needs 
 strength, and this strength the law can never give you. Before 
 man is renewed by repentance and faith, he cannot lead a truly vir- 
 tuous life. Christ alone can enable him to do so. As you thus 
 make use of the ten commandments in the wrong way, you not 
 only overthrow God's ordinance, but you sow even continually 
 the thorny seeds of self-righteousness in the heart of a lodge 
 member. You teach him that he can fulfill the law by his own 
 strength, and refer him continually to himself. No good fruit 
 can grow from such seed. It is the will of God that we should 
 come unto Christ, should remain steadfast in his word and faith 
 until our end. And in order to do this, a knowledge of sin is the 
 first requisite. Whoever does not know his sins, and that he is 
 
63 
 
 Worthy of condemnation, never comes unto Christ, and can there- 
 fore never be saved. Would you therefore make use of the law, 
 use it in the right way, namely, as a mirror to behold and leacn 
 to know your true condition, and God's serious punishment of sin, 
 that the law may also become unto you a schoolmaster to lead you 
 unto Christ. In this way the law becomes a blessing, otherwise 
 it is none. 
 
 You have repeatedly said, and it is written in your books 
 innumerable times, that you have nothing sectarian. But your 
 entire doctrine is thoroughly sectarian. Not one single sentence, 
 strictly considered, agrees with the word of God. You have 
 invented everything yourselves, and that in direct opposition to 
 God's word ; and therefore your whole doctrine is nothing but 
 sectarianism, yea, sectarianism above all others. A Christian 
 sect, according to your doctrines, you are not, because you have 
 not one single article of the Christian, that is, the biblical doc- 
 trine. But you are a religious, anti-christian sect, by your teach- 
 ings. If you now represent that also to be one of the benefactions 
 of the order, that two brothers watch by the bedside of the sick 
 and dying, I must entreat the good God to graciously guard me 
 against this benefit. When I am sick and dying, I want the con- 
 solations of the divine word and the blessing of believing prayer. 
 The true Odd Fellow, who believes the doctrine of the lodge, can 
 afford me neither. He cannot in faith comfort and strengthen 
 
 o 
 
 me from God's word, nor pray for me out of a believing heart for 
 Christ's sake. For this I need truly believing Christians, who, 
 by their faith, can comfort and strengthen me out of God's word ; 
 can point me to Christ as my only Savior ; can repeat to me his 
 consoling promises in the last struggle, which is often a hard one, 
 and pray in the power of the spirit. I pray God that he grant 
 me such in my dying hours. 
 
 Although, in my opinion, this ought to suffice to convince you 
 that the lodge does no truly good works, I will yet refer to another 
 
64 
 
 thing which you mentioned. Did you not say that the lodge 
 brothers assisted and helped each other whenever it was possible 
 to do so ? 
 
 E. Certainly I said so, and it is a fact that we do so. 
 
 Oh. Well, I see in this respect you are a good Odd Fellow. 
 Four instruction books enjoin this duty upon you, as, for exam- 
 ple, Manual, p. 178 ff. 132; Pocket Companion, p. 13,176 ff. ; 
 and you have promised the lodge to do so. If you, for instance, 
 should need a workman, and there were two, suppose one was a 
 member of the lodge, but belonged to no Christian congregation 
 and never attended church ; the other was a true Christian and 
 member of a church, but did not belong to the lodge ; they both 
 alike needed work and were equally skillful ; which of these two 
 would you take ? 
 
 E. I would most assuredly take him who belongs to the lodge, 
 for by so doing I would keep the promise I gave in the lodge, and 
 know that I had a faithful workman. You surely do not consider 
 that a sin, do you ? 
 
 Ch. Do you know what is written in Gal. 6:10? 
 
 E. No. What is written there? 
 
 Ch. "As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto 
 all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith." 
 The word of God, therefore, tells us we should especially, that is, 
 firstly, chiefly, particularly, before all things, do good to them 
 that are of the household of faith. But you, and all the mem- 
 bers of the lodge, say : No ; firstly, chiefly to my brother of the 
 lodge. See ; in such cases, if you wish to be a Christian and a 
 member of the lodge at the same time, you cannot help yourself; 
 you must commit sin, act as you will. If you do good firstly and 
 especially to the members of the lodge, you transgress God's holy 
 commandment. If you, on the other hand, do good firstly and 
 especially to your brethren of the household of faith, you break 
 the promise given in the lodge. Is that not dreadful, to be under 
 
65 
 
 necessity to sin ? And we know that the wrath of God from 
 heaven is revealed upon all sin and injustice (Roin. 2), and that 
 it is a fearful thing, as a willful transgressor of the word of the 
 Lord, to fall into the hands of a holy and righteous God. Indeed 
 I do not know how I could rest if I belonged to such a society. 
 
 We have now, at your wish, tested the "good works" of the 
 order by the light of God's word. It is true, we have not 
 exhausted the subject ; but so much we have already seen, that 
 not a single good work stands the test May God in mercy grant 
 that we learn to know his word and his will aright, and through 
 him be delivered from everything that prevents us from living 
 according to his blessed word ! Amen ! 
 
SIXTH DIALOGUE. 
 
 And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will 
 I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 
 John 14 : 13. 
 
 Ernest. Judging from your previous expressions, I must con- 
 clude that you have still more objections against the lodge. Is it 
 not so ? 
 
 Christian. Certainly, I have still more. 
 
 E. Pray, which are they ? 
 
 Ch. I would like again to take up one point at a time. Do 
 they pray in your lodge ? 
 
 E. Yes, the chaplain opens and closes every meeting with 
 prayer. It is expressly recommended by the Grand Lodge of the 
 United States, as you can yourself read in the Digest, p. 342, 
 where it is said : "It is highly desirable and eminently proper 
 that all lodges should be opened and closed with prayer." See 
 also Manual, p. 248 ff. 
 
 Ch. Yery well : we will suppose you pray to the true God ; 
 upon what do you ground the hope that your prayer is heard ? 
 
 E. I suppose upon this, that God is our Father and we are 
 his children. We entreat him, as beloved children entreat their 
 affectionate father, and, as God is our Father, he hears our 
 prayer. 
 
 Ch. How can you prove that God is your Father and that 
 you are his children ? I well know that your books repeat it a 
 
67 
 
 hundred times ; for instance, Manual, pp. 109, 140, 375, 385, 
 866, 222, ; Pocket Comp., p. 33 ; but pray, prove it. 
 
 E. God created us his children after his own image ; there- 
 fore we are his children and he is our Father. 
 
 Ch. Most assuredly God created our first parents as his chil- 
 dren, after his own likeness. But what has become of this like- 
 ness of God, and of God's children ? Do you not know that our 
 first parents turned away from God unto the devil, were disobedi- 
 ent to God and obeyed the devil ? By such disobedience to God 
 and obedience to the devil, men became the servants of the latter, 
 and " are taken captive by him at his will" (2 Tim. 2 : 26). 
 Through sin they became like unto the devil, and have lost their 
 glorious, innate and divine qualities, and in their stead received 
 qualities like the deviPs. For example, before the fall they were 
 holy, after it, unholy ; before, righteous, afterward, unrighteous. 
 In the place of love to God, entered slavish fear, aversion, yea, 
 even inward hatred ; in the place of uprightness came dissimula- 
 tion and hypocrisy ; in the place of truth entered lies. The Lord 
 Jesus however declares (John 8 : 44) all liars to be children of the 
 devil, and the Apostle says (1 John 3:8): " He that committeth 
 sin is of the devil." And that the wrath of God and punishment 
 follow sin, we learn from the Scriptures. Where are, then, the 
 children of God, who have a claim to eternal life ? 
 
 E. You surely will not declare us all together to be the chil- 
 dren of the devil ? 
 
 Ch. That be far from me, to declare this one or that one to be 
 children of the devil. But I do say, as the word of God says, 
 that we by nature are all in the kingdom of darkness (therefore 
 the deviPs), in the power of the devil (Acts 26 : 18), and serve 
 him with all our thoughts and deeds. Does not even the Apostle 
 Paul reckon himself, according to his former walk, among those 
 who served the prince of darkness (Eph. 2 : 1-3) ? and yet he at 
 that time led an outwardly moral, yea, strictly pure life. As we, 
 
68 
 
 therefore, are all by nature children of the devil and of wrath, 
 we cannot possibly believe that we are God's children and will be 
 saved, because he has created us. If we desire to be saved, we 
 must first "become the children of God; otherwise it is utterly 
 impossible. 
 
 E. How, then, can we become children of God ? 
 
 Ch. The holy Scripture tells us clearly and plainly. In John 
 1 : 12 we read : " As many as received him (Jesus Christ) to them 
 gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe 
 on his name, which were born . . . of God." Paul testifies (Gal. 
 3 : 26) : " For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ 
 Jesus/' because, he says, they have "put on Christ.'' Only 
 through Jesus Christ and the work of redemption that he wrought, 
 can we attain to the adoption as children of God, as the Scripture 
 says (Eph. 1:5): " Having predestinated us unto the adoption of 
 children by Jesus Christ to himself.'' These texts declare clearly 
 and distinctly, that solely through. Christ can we attain to the 
 adoption as children of God. Whoever suffers himself to be 
 called, enlightened and brought to faith by the Holy Spirit, and 
 embraces and accepts Jesus Christ by faith, to him he gives power 
 to become and to remain a child of God. On the contrary, all 
 those who do not believe in Jesus Christ, are not children of God 
 in the true, full sense of the word. And, as the lodge does not 
 believe in Christ, does not and will not recognize him, it does not 
 consist of God's children. God is not their Father, and they are 
 not his children. Do not misunderstand me ; I do not mean to 
 say that there are no children of God in the lodge. It can possi- 
 bly be that here and there a weak soul, that believes in Christ, 
 has been tempted to join the lodge, who does not know its fright- 
 ful heresies, and therefore does not see the danger. With such, 
 it is a sin of ignorance. But so soon as they come to this knowl- 
 edge, they will renounce the communion of the lodge and confess 
 Christ. 
 
6$ 
 
 E. But still it seems to me as if, upon the whole, you consider 
 us to be children of the devil. 
 
 Ch. As I said before, the right of judging persons does not 
 belong to me ; therefore I cannot and dare not say this or that 
 one is a child of the devil. Every Christian, however, must say, 
 with the Scriptures : Whosoever does not believe in Jesus Christ, is 
 no child of God, but of the devil. Your lodge and your doctrines 
 have their origin in unbelief. Whoever assents to your false doc- 
 trines, approves of them, defends and seeks to spread them, know- 
 ing that they do not coincide with the Scriptures, cannot be a 
 child of God. 
 
 E. You began with speaking about praying. What was your 
 motive in doing so V 
 
 Ch. I had a twofold motive : 1, to assure myself that the 
 prayer of your lodge is not heard, indeed is sinful for every true 
 Christian ; 2, in order to hear once more the witness of the Scrip- 
 tures that the lodge has no God. 
 
 E. You think, therefore, that the prayers we offer in the 
 lodge are not heard and answered ? 
 
 Ch. Certainly. Do you not know, from your Catechism, how 
 we must pray if we wish to be heard ? 
 
 E. Our Catechism says : In the name of Jesus Christ. 
 
 Ch. Well, will you now affirm that your Chaplain, in opening 
 and closing the lodge, at funerals and dedications of lodges, prays 
 in the name of Jesus ? 
 
 E. No, I will not assert that. He dare not do it. Ti.e 
 prayers are prescribed to him, and to the use of these formulas 
 he is limited But I do assert that I pray with the lodge, and 
 think of Jesus Christ in my prayer. 
 
 Ch. I am glad you own that the Chaplain, praying at the 
 request of and in obedience to the lodge, does not offer up his 
 prayer in the name of Jesus. It is also too clearly and plainly 
 written so in your books. A large number of so-called prayers 
 
are found in them ; for example, Manual, p. 241, ff. 466, 
 473 ff. 505, 507 ; Pocket Comp., p. 189 ff. 244, 250 ff. ; but not 
 one of them is offered in the name of Jesus Christ, and the Chap- 
 lain is expressly directed to use these forms in his prayers. In 
 Pocket Comp., p. 166, it says : " His duty is to open and close the 
 meetings with prayer (using none other than the prescribed form)." 
 Your book of laws (Digest) also, on page 341, forbids to offer any 
 other than the prescribed prayers. Indeed, should a Chaplain 
 undertake to pray in the name of Jesus, any member need only 
 protest against it, and he must immediately desist from it. As, 
 then, the lodge does not pray in the name of Jesus, and dare not 
 even do so, these prayers are only such as God cannot hear. 
 
 E. What do you call praying in the name of Jesus V 
 
 Ch. We pray in the name of Jesus when we firmly rely and 
 rest upon the merits of Christ ; that is, that we approach God in 
 prayer, relying upon the redemption of Christ, present our peti- 
 tion to him, because he graciously has commanded us so to do 
 (has vouchsafed us the honor to dare to pray), and has mercifully 
 promised that he will hear us. Whoever, now, believes in Christ, 
 confides in his promises, and alone for his sake, and not on account 
 of his own righteousness, entreats to be heard and believingly 
 expects it, he prays in the name of Jesus. And such prayer has 
 the express promise that it shall be heard (John 14 : 13, 14; 16 : 24). 
 But without faith it is impossible to please God and to pray in 
 such a manner that one's prayer may be granted (Heb. 6 : 11). 
 As the lodge, however, does not pray in the name of Jesus, it has 
 no promise that it will be heard ; indeed God cannot hear you. 
 
 E. Why cannot God hear us? 
 
 Ch. Because you do not come to him, relying upon Christ's 
 righteousness, but upon your own ; you tread his commandments 
 under foot and subvert his ordinances. Your own righteousness, 
 however, before God is nothing but unrighteousness, which he 
 must punish. How can God possibly hear you, when you appear 
 
71 
 
 before him deserving punishment, and yet do not seek and entreat 
 pardon and reconciliation through the blood of Christ, but approach 
 him with your so-called "good works, " praising and boasting of 
 yourselves. Truly, God would cease to be holy and just, if he 
 would hear you, and that is impossible. 
 
 E. And are our prayers even sinful ? 
 
 Oh. To be sure. Everything that is done, thought or spoken 
 against God's commandments, is sin. God wills that we should 
 call upon him in the name of his dear Son, and only for the sake 
 of the reconciliation which has taken place through him, shall we 
 ask every good thing, for time and eternity. This, however, you 
 neither do nor wish to do. Therefore every one of your prayers 
 is of itself sin. The prayer of the lodge, however, is a double, 
 nay, threefold sin to every Christian who, knowing that we should 
 pray in Jesus' "name, nevertheless prays with the lodge con- 
 trary to God's commandments and statues, without even once 
 publicly and earnestly protesting against it. Such a one denies 
 his Lord Jesus Christ, who has purchased him, denies his faith, 
 and is worse than a Heathen. Tke words apply to him : " That 
 servant which knew his lord's will, and prepared not himself, 
 neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many 
 stripes" (Luke 12: 47); and: " Whosoever shall deny me be- 
 fore men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in 
 Heaven" (Matt. 10:33). 
 
 E. But I told you that I think of Jesus during prayer. 
 
 Ch. That can indeed not exonerate you. By so doing, you 
 confess that you know how Christians ought to pray, and yet 
 always pray with the lodge contrary to the will of God, and 
 silently approve of its false prayers ; therefore you deny your 
 'faith in the word of God, and by your silence and participation 
 strengthen the ignorant.in the error that their prayers are right, 
 and make yourself continually a partaker of other men's sins. 
 As you nevertheless still cling to the church, which many of your 
 
72 
 
 lodge members do not, they certainly must think : " If our prayers 
 were not right, Brother Ernst would surely say something about 
 it ; but, as he says nothing, our prayers are certainly right and 
 Christian." Thus by your silence you strengthen other souls in 
 their error, and for this there is no excuse. Do you know who 
 alone can pray in the name of Jesus ? 
 
 E. Of course, only a Christian, who knows and believes in 
 Jesus. 
 
 Ch. You are right. A Heathen or Jew cannot pray in the 
 name of Jesus, because he does not believe in Christ. Do you 
 desire still another testimony from your own book, as further 
 proof that the lodge will suffer no prayer in the name of Jesus, 
 indeed no Christian prayer? Then read what is said on page 166 
 of the Pocket Companion concerning the Chaplain. There it is 
 said, in plain words: " It is scarcely necessartf to add that the 
 Chaplain should be, if not a Christian, at least a moral man." 
 Therefore the lodge is satisfied with any Jew or Gentile, any one 
 who denies Christ or despises God, as a Chaplain, provided he 
 leads a moral life, or, in other words, is not guilty of grave offences. 
 There remains, therefore, not a shadow of doubt that the lodge 
 will have no Christian prayer, but only such to which a Heathen, a 
 Jew, or a denier of Christ, as such, can assent to. In short, it wants 
 a prayer that Jew and Gentile can say Amen to, a heathenish prayer. 
 That must surely be a dreadful thing to every true Christian. 
 
 E. That is indeed too evident for me to raise any forcible 
 objection against it. But before I say anything further, I would 
 beg you to give me the Scripture proof for your other assertion, 
 that the lodge has no God. 
 
 Ch. Most willingly. I have repeatedly proved to you that 
 the lodge does not believe in Jesus Christ, does not recognize him 
 to be the Son of God, does not esteem him to be its Savior and 
 Redeemer. But what does the Scripture say of those who do not 
 recognize and honor Jesus as true God ? It says (1 John 2 : 23) : 
 
73 
 
 " Whosoever denieth the Sony the tame hath not the Father." 
 There are, perhaps, many in the lodge who think they pray to 
 the true God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ ; but they err 
 grievously. As the lodge does not believe in Christ as the Son of 
 God, and consequently has not the Son, therefore the word of God 
 judges it hath not the Father. Moreover, in 2 John 5, it is said : 
 " Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of 
 Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, 
 he hath both the Father and the Son." The lodge, not having 
 remained in the doctrine of Christ, but having turned aside from 
 it in every respect, indeed teaching the very contrary from what 
 Christ teaches, is judged by the word of God that "it hath no 
 God." The (rod to whom you pray in the lodge is an idol, a 
 creature of every one's own imagination, which nowhere exists, 
 which can neither help nor save you ; least of all, in your dying 
 hour, can comfort you and grant you a happy end. To pray to 
 such an idol of one's imagination or reason, one need not be a 
 Christian ; every Jew, Gentile, Turk and denier of Christ can do 
 that. Indeed, true Christians, faithful children of God, are not 
 fit for that, because they are incapable of so grievously transgress- 
 ing the first and holiest of all commandments. According to the 
 judgment of the sacred Scripture, the lodge has no God. That is 
 frightful ! I would be terribly uneasy in such company. Who- 
 soever is without God, is, according to Ephesians 2 : 12, without 
 a Savior and Redeemer, "an alien from the commonwealth of 
 Israel, and a stranger from the covenants of promise, having no 
 hope" of everlasting life. Blessed is he who considers this in 
 time. Our last hour may come very suddenly. 
 
 E. In the light of these plain texts, one can hardly judge 
 otherwise. But before you proceed, I would like to mention 
 something else, which has caused me great uneasiness since our 
 last conversation. 
 
 Ch. What is it ? 
 
74 
 
 E. From Gal. 6 : 10 I have learned that we, as Christians, 
 should first do good to those that are of the household of faith. 
 Hitherto I have not done so. One case, in particular, oppresses 
 me. Several years ago, I had need of a workman for a length of 
 time* There Were two to be had. The one was very poor, had a 
 large family, was a member of the church, attended church regu- 
 larly, and seemed to be a pious man ; at least, I never heard any 
 evil of him ; but he was not a member of the lodge. The other 
 made a good living, seldom went to a church, and, as I learned 
 afterwards, believed neither in God, Heaven nor Hell. But, 
 because he was a lodge-member, I employed him instead of the 
 other. At that time, I did not feel any great uneasiness about it. 
 1 know very well that my conscience reproved me, but I quieted 
 its scruples with tne promise I had made on entering the lodge, to 
 support, aid and assist the brethren. I even said to myself: Why 
 did he not join the lodge? then I could have employed him. The 
 poor man came into great distress, because he was for a long time 
 out of work. His wife, who seemed to be of a somewhat fretful 
 temperament, often shed bitter tears, when she did not know what 
 she and her little ones should eat. Times being hard, and little 
 work to be had, he could only, with great pains and trouble, pro- 
 oure a scanty support for his family. At length, he sold out 
 everything, even to his beds, to procure the necessary means for 
 removing to another State. I am now very sorry for having acted 
 so at that time. I wish I had done otherwise. I have certainly 
 done wrong, have I not? 
 
 Ch. Alas, you have greatly sinned. You have committed a 
 twofold wrong. In the first place, you have acted contrary to 
 the word of God, which says we should especially do good to them 
 which are of the household of faith ; and secondly, you have sin- 
 ned against charity, by giving employment and bread to him who 
 needed it the least. Charity aids and assists, first of all, those who 
 stand most in need of it. 
 
75 
 
 E. I am truly sorry for it, and it burdens my conscience. I 
 should like to have your advice what I should do. 
 
 Ch. In the first place, I would advise you earnestly to entreat 
 God to forgive you, and then - 
 
 E. I have already done so, but I find no peace. 
 
 Ch. Then the fault lies entirely in yourself, either in your 
 faith or in your understanding. The Lord Jesus has suffered on 
 Calvary for all sins, and has shed his precious blood for this sin 
 of yours also, and will gladly forgive you. Nay, more ; he offers 
 you the forgiveness of this sin also, and only desires that you do 
 not reject it. 
 
 E. Where does God offer me the forgiveness of this sin 
 also? 
 
 Ch. In his blessed word and sacrament. In the Epistle to 
 the Ephesians, 1 : 7, we read : " In whom (Christ) we have 
 redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins." These 
 words are spoken to you and to me, and in speaking, or rather 
 causing them to be spoken to us, God brings us forgiveness and 
 offers it to us. Whoever, now, believes these words with his whole 
 heart, enjoys what they indicate and declare, namely, the remis- 
 sion of sins. And, that we should in no wise doubt that such 
 gracious words apply to all sins, John writes, in his first Epistle, 
 1:7: " The blood of Jesus Christ, his Son, cleanseth us from all 
 sin." Not a single sin, be it great or small, wilfully or ignorantly 
 committed, is excepted. The Lord Jesus has suffered for all sins 
 and for all sinners. Whoever sincerely repents of his sins, and 
 believes in Christ with his whole heart, enjoys, through such faith, 
 the forgiveness of them. In the Communion we receive likewise 
 forgiveness of sins. But why should I explain it to you any fur- 
 ther ? You know your Catechism, and it teaches us from the 
 Scriptures, that through these words in the Sacrament, the remis- 
 sion of sins, life and salvation, are imparted. If, now, in spite of 
 such a declaration on the part of pur God, we cannot enjoy peace. 
 
76 
 
 the fault certainly does not lie with him, but with ourselves, in 
 that we in some way or other hinder the grace of God. 
 
 E. It comforts me to hear such words of Scripture ; but it 
 always seems as if they did not apply to me. I might have known 
 at that time, yes, in a certain sense I did know, that my way of 
 acting was wrong ; and yet I laid more weight upon the promise 
 given to the lodge than upon the word of God. I think I am too 
 wicked for God to forgive me. 
 
 CTi. It seems to me you are greatly mistaken. You probably 
 imagine that if you had always lived virtuously, and had acted 
 differently in this case also, then God could forgive all those errors 
 that may yet cling to your otherwise good works ; do you not? 
 
 E. Those are about my thoughts. 
 
 Ch. But then you rely, for the forgiveness of your sins, not 
 upon Christ's blood and righteousness, bufc upon your own merit. 
 So long as you continue in the belief that you need forgiveness 
 merely for this sin, and perhaps a few other faults, but not for 
 your whole life, you will never enjoy peace. We must learn that 
 all our own righteousness, all our best works, before God are but 
 as filthy and polluted rags, something which condemns us before 
 God, because everything, even the greatest virtues, are contami- 
 nated and defiled by the sin which continually besets us and 
 cleaves to all we do. We must cast ourselves entirely into the 
 depths of mercy, and say : I come, Lord, not relying upon my 
 own righteousness, but upon thy great compassion ; forgive me, 
 solely for Jesus 1 sake, all my sinS, even such and such a one. 
 Only pray for a right knowledge of your sins, and for saving 
 faith ; make diligent use of the Word of God and the Sacra- 
 ment, and you will find peace also in regard to the wrong you 
 have done the poor man. 
 
 E. I would like to show the man a kindness now, and make 
 Amends for my error. 
 
 Oh, It 13 certainly just and proper to make restitution to our 
 
77 
 
 neighbor, as far as possible. It is, at all events, in accordance 
 with the word of the Lord, in Ezek. 33 : 14, 15. But I must 
 call your attention to a dangerous error, which easily creeps into 
 the minds of men. We too readily believe that by making what 
 is called amends of the wrong done, we reconcile God, and have 
 made restitution for our sin before God, or, at least, have made 
 God willing to forgive us. That can never be done. We cannot 
 make amends for any sin before God, nor can we induce him to 
 forgive us ; Christ alone can do that. Love to our neighbor de- 
 mands that we should indemnify him for the injury done ; and 
 therefore no true Christian can or should neglect to do so. How- 
 ever, we dare not imagine that we have thereby canceled the sin 
 and need no further forgiveness. The sin having been committed, 
 we must have forgiveness, and seek that alone in the blood and 
 wounds of Christ. Do you know where the man lives at pres- 
 ent? 
 
 E. I only know the State to which he moved. Did I know 
 his address, I would immediately write to him. But perhaps 
 I can ascertain that, as I have a brother and several ac- 
 quaintances residing in the same State. I will write to them 
 to-morrow. 
 
 Ch. Do so ; and I wish you may find him and have an oppor- 
 tunity of showing him your affection. It is a great mercy of God, 
 when we, by his word, come to a knowledge of oar sins, and be- 
 come sensible of the wrong we have done our neighbor. Being 
 conscious of it, we can pray for grace and pardon, which naturally 
 we cannot do when we are unconscious of it. But the sins we 
 commit against God are much greater and more grievous than 
 those we commit against men. God is the highest majesty ; we 
 are indebted to him for all that we have ; therefore the sins against 
 him are much greater and more heinous. Therefore if you, by 
 your participation therein, have continually approved of the false 
 
78 
 
 doctrine of the lodge ; have not confessed Christ ; consequently 
 have denied your Lord, his word and the faith, this sin is much 
 greater than those you have committed against men. But gener- 
 ally we are very slow to believe that. May God, in his grace, 
 grant us his holy spirit, that we may, in every particular, attain 
 to a right knowledge ! 
 
SEVENTH DIALOGUE. 
 
 Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed in 
 him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my 
 disciples indeed. John 8 : 31. 
 
 Christian. You look very much pleased this evening, neigh- 
 bor. I have been expecting another visit from you this long time. 
 I am very glad that you have come. 
 
 Ernest. G-od be praised, I am indeed very much pleased. 
 The very next day after our last conversation, I wrote to my 
 brother and several acquaintances for the address of that man, 
 whom I shall call N. I received it shortly afterward, and wrote 
 him a long letter, in which I communicated to him that I had 
 done him great wrong at that time by not employing him, who 
 needed it so sadly, but another, who without this work had a good 
 support ; that I had acted in this manner because the latter 
 belonged to the lodge and he did not. Certainly no law could 
 punish me for so doing, but I had sinned against charity. I also 
 wrote, that at that time I had not clearly known that it was sin ; 
 but had soon quieted my conscience by reminding it that, upon 
 joining the lodge, I had promised to assist and aid all the mem- 
 bers ; but now, through the grace of God, I had come to a better 
 knowledge. I was now very sorry for my error, and begged his 
 forgiveness. I also enclosed a check for fifty dollars, and entreated 
 him to accept it as a compensation for the injury done. There- 
 
80 
 
 Upon, he wrote me this lengthy and beautiful letter. I will read 
 it for you, if you like. 
 
 Ch. Pray do so. 
 
 E. ESTEEMED MR. ERNEST: The grace of G-od be with 
 you ! Your affectionate letter caused me to give grateful thanks 
 to Grod. When I contemplate the faithful love of our Shepherd, 
 Jesus Christ, which so clearly shines forth from your letter, I 
 could not refrain from tears. To Grod be praise and thanks, that 
 you, through his grace, have been brought to the knowledge that 
 membership in the lodge, to say the very least, is a very danger- 
 ous thing, and a terrible obstacle to the Christian in the narrow 
 way to Heaven. T was also so unfortunate, at one time, as to allow 
 myself, by all manner of deceptions, particularly by promises of 
 valuable worldly advantages, to be induced to join. After my 
 application for acceptance, I could not sleep for several nights, 
 and when I was admitted, I suffered truly the anguish of hell. 
 They seek, indeed, to make it very terrible and awe*-inspiring, by 
 means of darkness, sudden light, frightful pictures, clattering, and 
 the like. My fear, however, was not caused by this hocus pocus, 
 but by my conscience, which bitterly reproached me. Not one 
 evening did I sit in the lodge with a quiet conscience. I knew 
 that quite a number of infidels belonged to it ; I knew also that it is 
 written : " Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers; 
 for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and 
 what communion hath light with darkness ? And ivhat concord 
 hath Christ with Belial ? or what part hath he that believeth 
 with an infidel ? Wherefore, come out from among them, and be 
 ye separate, saith the Lord " (2 Cor. 6 : 14-17). The conviction 
 that this action was in contradiction to the word of God, tormented 
 me. All the sorry comiort with which a brother tried to console 
 me, that the lodge let every one believe what he pleased, and 
 had, properly speaking, nothing at all to do with religion, but was 
 merely an association for mutual aid and alleviation of distress, 
 
81 
 
 could not help me. I found upon almost every page of the pub- 
 lications and books of the lodge, this false comfort refuted, partly 
 in a direct and partly in an indirect manner ; therefore my uneasi- 
 ness remained. But, by the grace of God, I was soon to be 
 brought to a decision. One evening, shortly after the election of 
 a new chaplain, he closed the lodge with prayer in the name of 
 Jesus, entreating God to answer for the sake of Jesus Christ his 
 Son. At the very next meeting, several members made complaint 
 about it. The matter was discussed. I endeavored to prove from 
 Scripture, that it was a Christian's duty to pray in the name of 
 Jesus, and that we could not hope to be heard only on account of 
 the redemption of GoJ's Son. But what answer, dear Mr. Ernst, 
 do you think they gave me? One said we had nothing to do with 
 the Christian religion. The lodge had its own religion, and in 
 accordance with this we pray to God. The lodge had nothing at 
 all to do with Jesus Christ. At home, every one could pray as 
 he pleased ; but here in the lodge, no prayer dare or could ever 
 be offered in the name of Jesus ; it was also forbidden in the 
 Digest (page 341). Another was more outspoken yet. He de- 
 clared that he could not conceive how it was possible that there 
 were still people, in our century, who believed the priests' fraud 
 that Jesus was the Son of God. Least of all, could he compre- 
 hend that members of the lodge still did so, as the lodge was an 
 educational institution, and purposed to banish all superstition 
 (meaning faith in Christ). Christ, he said further, was a man 
 like one of us ; indeed he was of illegitimate birth, therefore a 
 bastard ! I was terrified and shocked at such blasphemy. My 
 resolution was taken. When I once more gained the floor, I 
 announced my withdrawal, with the remark that the outspoken 
 infidelity and blasphemy compelled me, as a Christian, to go out 
 from such a society. I anticipated the hatred of most of the 
 members, aiid it has richly been poured out upon me. They tried 
 to deprive me of my employment and means of living, or to 
 
82 
 
 diminish them. At last I preferred to go out of the way of these peo- 
 ple, and came into your section of country. Even there, God would 
 not that I should earn my bread in peace. Again I pulled up my 
 stakes, and came hither. Here, through the grace of God, I have 
 not only succeeded in earning an honest livelihood, but something 
 more and above. I already own a fine farm, which is mostly paid 
 for. God be praised, everything goes well with me here. We 
 Jiave also a neat church, a faithful pastor, and the word of God 
 and his sacraments pure and unadulterated, as well as a good 
 school with an excellent teacher for our children. That lodge, in 
 which I, alas ! was once a member, resolved that prayer should 
 only be held according to the prescribed form, therefore not in 
 the name of Jesus. I was, however, not the only one who left at 
 that time. The Chaplain, for the same reason, at the next session 
 announced his withdrawal. 
 
 I found it quite natural that, at that time, you should employ 
 the other man instead of me, as I, from my own experience, knew 
 the lodge and its aims. I heartily forgave you, and never held a 
 grudge against you on that account. The want of employment at 
 that time, if I look at it right, was of no damage to me. I have 
 experienced the truth of the words of Scripture : " It is good for 
 me that I have been afflicted" (Ps. 119 : 71). I have also expe- 
 rienced that in the old proverb, "Necessity teaches us to pray, ?> 
 a profound truth is concealed. I was driven, by my affliction, to 
 more earnest prayer and into the word of God, and in this way it 
 became a blessing to me. 
 
 And now, in regard to the fifty dollars you so kindly sent me, 
 I think it would be a sin to accept pay for this blessing (for indeed 
 the tribulation proved only a blessing to me). If you are agreed, 
 I will double the sum and send it to the Theological Seminary ID 
 N N . Pray let me know your opinion as soon as pos- 
 sible. 
 
 Thanks be to the faithful God, who has granted us all manner 
 
83 
 
 of heavenly blessings, through Christ. May he grant further 
 grace, that we learn to know his word aright and to live in 
 accordance with it. Wishing you the blessing of God, I com- 
 mend myself to your love and remembrance in your prayers. 
 
 Yours, N. 
 
 Ch This letter tunes one's heart to praise and gratitude, and 
 affords us another evidence of the great love of God, who wills 
 not that any one should be lost. Did he not go after this N., 
 and gave him no rest in the communion of the unbelievers, until 
 he came out from among them ? Yes ; honor and praise be to 
 God, that he follows and seeks us in our wanderings, as a shep- 
 herd seeks the straying lamb ! Did he leave us to ourselves, we 
 would all be heirs of everlasting perdition. 
 
 E. This letter occasions me great joy. He has forgiven me ; 
 everything goes well with him. He will not accept the fifty dol- 
 lars, but will double it and send it to the Theological Seminary in 
 case I consent to it. Well, I think I shall give my entire assent 
 to it. What do you think? 
 
 Ch. I think it is the very best thing you can do. This coun- 
 try is in great want of faithful ministers and school teachers. 
 However, such institutions can only be sustained by the loving 
 care of the congregations, and it is our duty, as Dr. Luther so 
 pressingly admonishes us, to do all in our power that the word of 
 God may be handed down pure and unadulterated to those that 
 come after us ; therefore it is not only laudable and right, but 
 also our sacred obligation, to support such institutions. 
 
 E. N., too, was, then, at one time a lodge member, and went 
 out from it. I was not aware of it before. I, too, have been for 
 some time uneasy about my membership. I do not exactly know 
 what to do. Sometimes I think it is not right to remain any 
 longer in the lodge ; at other times the thought arises in me : 
 Should you remain, you might help to change some things for the 
 better. Then again I think : You should withdraw ; it is an alh- 
 
84 
 
 ance of unbelievers. Sometimes again it is very hard for me to 
 entertain the thought of leaving, as I have very good friends 
 among them. At other times, the care for my family troubles me, 
 should we meet with misfortune and lose a great deal, or perhaps 
 everything ; and if I should die, they would, of course, receive no 
 aid, and the money I have paid in for so many years would be 
 thrown away. 
 
 Ch. That you have such scruples and are inwardly tossed 
 from one side to the other, I can well understand. That is one 
 of the struggles between the flesh and the Spirit, between sin and 
 righteousness, between the old and the new man. This struggle 
 is allotted to us. Blessed are we if the Spirit gains the victory 
 (G-al. 5 : 16, 17, 22-24). Should you, however, really believe, 
 that by remaining in the lodge, you would be able to change some 
 things for the better, you would be greatly mistaken. A society 
 with such false doctrine and erroneous belief can never more be 
 cured by remaining in it and meaning to testify against its faults. 
 Even if by our words we would seemingly effect some good, we 
 would by sinfully remaining in it do ten times greater harm. 
 How can the reproof be sincere, or how should others be able to 
 regard it seriously, when they see that he who finds fault quietly 
 remains in the society ? No ; if there be any means by which 
 such an association can be cured, it is surely only by withdrawing 
 from it, with a clear statement of its false doctrine, and then to 
 seek by word and deed to convince other souls that are captivated 
 by it, of their wrong. However, I believe it is not necessary to 
 waste many words about it. If I might offer my advice, it would 
 be this : Come out from among the communion of unbelievers ; 
 or, Renounce the world, cleave to Christ ! Yet I should be sorry 
 were you to take this step on account of human persuasion. Con- 
 inue faithfully to compare the doctrines of the lodge with the 
 Holy Scriptures, to use the means of grace diligently, entreat the 
 Holy Ghost for enlightenment, and then you will speedily 
 
85 
 
 to a decision. Least of all will the ties of friendship or the 
 money paid in, then keep you back. All these are only earthly 
 and perishable goods. I think we will meanwhile commend this 
 matter to our faithful God and pray that he may direct it so that 
 it may redound to his glory. I believe, however, it would be well 
 for us to talk about some other matters. 
 
 I lately read in the Book of Concord of our Lutheran Church, 
 where it speaks in the Epitome of the rule and standard of doc- 
 trine and faith: "We believe, teach and confess, that the only 
 rule and standard, according to which all doctrines and teachers 
 alike ought to be tried and judged, are the prophetic and apostolic 
 Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments alone." And it struck 
 me that the lodge has an entirely different rule and standard of 
 doctrine and faith, than the Church of God. 
 
 E. The Book of Concord, what kind of book is that ? 
 
 Ch. The Book of Concord contains all the confessional writ- 
 ings of our Evangelical Lutheran Church, namely, the three 
 (Ecumenical Confessions of Faith, the Augsburg Confession, with 
 its Apology, the Smalcald Articles, the smaller and larger Cate- 
 chisms of Luther, and the Formula of Concord. Every Lutheran 
 should surely have and diligently read it, that he may know what 
 his church believes, teaohes and confesses, according to the Word 
 of God, and what she, according to the Scriptures, rejects as false 
 doctrine. Are you not acquainted with the book ? 
 
 E. I am acquainted with the Smaller Catechism and the 
 Augsburg Confession, but I do not know the other writings. 
 
 Oh. If you wish to read it, I will gladly lend you my Book 
 of Concord, but it is better that you should purchase one for your- 
 self. 
 
 E. I shall do so. But you were saying that the lodge has an 
 entirely different standard of doctrine than the Church. I inter- 
 rupted you. Pray, continue. 
 
 (7A. The Church of Jesus Christ confesses the Scriptures of 
 
86 
 
 tbe Old and New Testaments to be the only rule and standard of 
 faith, of doctrine and of life, and has expressly declared so in her 
 confessional writings. Does the lodge do the same ? No ; it 
 has an entirely different rule and standard of faith, doctrine and 
 life, namely, conscience ; indeed not the conscience enlightened 
 by and resting in the word of God, but the conscience corrupted, 
 perverted, darkened and led astray by sin. For so we read in 
 the Manual, p. 376 : " The authority of conscience, in RELIGION, 
 must be PARAMOUNT." In the Pocket Companion, p. 127, it 
 says: " Conscience should be permitted always to govern us, and 
 as it directs, so should we ever act." Here it is clearly and 
 unmistakably said, that the lodge does not recognize the Word of 
 God as superior to conscience. It does not give the Word of God 
 the first place, but conscience ; does not allow conscience to be 
 corrected, enlightened and quickened by God's Word, but places 
 the Word of God far, far beneath conscience, and subjects it to 
 its reason and egotiom. Thus, whatever the Heathen's conscience 
 tells him, in religious matters, that is right ; what his conscience 
 whispers to him that rejects Christ, is also right ; but what the 
 conscience of the believing Christian, after it has been enlight- 
 ened and quickened by the Word of God, tells him concerning 
 religion, that is called " sectarianism." And why is all that 
 right which the conscience of those says who do not believe in 
 the Bible ? Because the highest authority which the lodge has, 
 has declared it to be so. What a piece of blasphemous folly ! 
 Truth, in religious matters, is but one. Two contradictory doc- 
 trines cannot both be true. What a confusion of doctrines this 
 would make ! Let us take, for example, the doctrine concerning 
 God. The Jew declares : I believe, according to my conscience, 
 in one only invisible God, but not in a triune Being. Here the 
 highest authority has spoken. Our Indian says : I believe, accord- 
 ing to my conscience, in the Great Spirit and in evil spirits. Here 
 the highest authority has spoken. The Chinese declare, pointing 
 
87 
 
 to a small idol : This is my household God, in whom I believe, 
 according to my conscience. Here again the highest authority 
 has spoken. The Fetish worshiper has a potsherd hanging on the 
 wall, and solemnly affirms : According to my conscience, this is 
 my God, whom I adore. Here the highest authority again has 
 spoken. The Mohammedan, with pious mien, says : Allah, accord- 
 ing to my conscience, is my God, and Mohammed is his prophet. 
 Again the highest authority has spoken. Finally, the unbeliever 
 declares : Nature is God, and there is none other ; that is my 
 belief, according to my conscience ; he is a fool who believes 
 otherwise. Here, too, the highest authority has spoken. Now 
 tell me which of all these contradictory doctrines is right ? The 
 highest authority has spoken in regard to all. As they contradict 
 each other and no two of them agree, whom shall and can one 
 believe ? Behold ! the only truth existing becomes a twenty-fold 
 truth, continually contradicting itself. Is not that dreadful ? 
 
 E. My understanding of this matter, until now, has been, 
 that the conscience of each individual should decide in regard to 
 his religion. 
 
 CJi. This is probably meant, and I understand it so ; and in 
 this way we get a truth of a thousand shades, and contradicting 
 itself in a thousandfold manner. There is, however, but one 
 faith, one doctrine, one God (Eph. 4 : 3-6). But the reason of 
 it is, that the lodge does not recognize the Word of God to be 
 above conscience, but, on the contrary, elevates conscience far 
 above God's word, and allows this conscience, thus sundered from 
 God's word, to judge and decide on all faith and doctrine. Should 
 the lodge, for example, say : The Word of God is the only rule 
 and standard of faith, doctrine and life ; let your conscience be 
 ruled and quickened thereby, and then never act against the dic- 
 tates of your conscience, resting in Grod's word, it would do 
 right. Bub that it will not do ; neither can it do so, with its 
 mongrel religion, to which the Jews, Heathen and unbelievers 
 
88 
 
 agree. The majesty of God and of his holy word is terribly dis- 
 honored and desecrated in this way. Sinful and ungodly men set 
 their perverted conscience in place of God's everlasting word. 
 What do you now think of this absurd principle of the lodge, 
 that conscience, unenlightened by the Word of God, should, in 
 religious matters, decide all things ? Do you consider that to be 
 right ? 
 
 E. I do not believe that it is correct, and must say, that in 
 its application, it shakes and overthrows every real truth. I, at 
 least, can no longer consent to it. 
 
 Ch. Were this principle correct, then it was unnecessary for 
 God to give the ten commandments and send the prophets and 
 his Word ; for, if conscience, without God's word, is the highest 
 authority, what is the use of them all ? The sufferings and death 
 of Jesus Christ, whereby he redeemed the world and taught the 
 way to heaven, would then be just as useless and superfluous, 
 because, according to that principle, the natural conscience, with- 
 out God's word, teaches men the right way, that is, the way to 
 Heaven. If we now look into the holy Scriptures, we find, that 
 by nature we know nothing of God and divine things, as we ought 
 to know in order to be saved. In 1 Cor. 2 : 14, it is said, for 
 example : " But the natural man (that is, man as he is born into 
 the world, as he is by nature) receiveth not the things of the 
 spirit of God ; for they are foolishness unto him : neither can he 
 know them, because they are spiritually discerned. " Here, not 
 only all true knowledge, all right understanding of spiritual things, 
 are denied to the natural man, but also the power to seize and 
 comprehend them, even when they are communicated to him. In 
 Matt. 11 : 27, the Lord Jesus says : " No man knoweth the Son, 
 but the Father ; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the 
 Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him." Here we 
 see, therefore, that we can in no wise know God the Father, unless 
 the Son does reveal him to us in the Word- And when Peter 
 
confesses, " Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God," 
 Christ answers : " Flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, 
 but my Father which is- in Heaven " (Matt. 16 : 16, 17). Thus 
 we see, that of ourselves, we are unable to know either the Father 
 or the Son, or other spiritual things, without the divine revela- 
 tion. God must give us the knowledge of salvation (Luke 1:77), 
 by giving us "the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowl- 
 edge of him " (Eph. 1 : 17). As little as we, of ourselves, can 
 know God by our conscience, so little can we, by our conscience, 
 learn the way to Heaven. The conscience of no natural man has 
 ever taught him : Repent and believe in the Gospel. There have 
 been, for example, learned men among the Heathen, particularly 
 among the Greeks and Romans, and every one of them possessed 
 a conscience ; but not a single one has ever taught : Believe in 
 the Lord Jesus Christ, and you shall be saved. Indeed, this doc- 
 trine which the lodge has established, is ruinous, and no one who 
 follows it can be saved. 
 
 E. I firmly believe that, in religious matters, we can only 
 allow the sacred Scriptures to be the rule and standard ; otherwise 
 we fall into pernicious confusion, from which we cannot extricate 
 ourselves. Every one claims, according to his conscience, to have 
 the right religion. 
 
 Ch. We fall not only into wretched confusion, but, what is 
 surely still worse, we cannot be saved, as conscience, without the 
 word of God, never finds the right way of repentance and faith. 
 When, however, the lodge assigns to conscience the highest 
 authority in affairs of religion, it means to apply this only to the 
 lodge members, and all such as accept its false doctrine ; a con- 
 science that in matters of religion differs from its conscience, it 
 does not respect. I, for example, according to my conscience, 
 which rests in God's word, can only warn against the pernicious 
 doctrines of the lodge. Thus my conscience teaches me, because 
 it is so instructed by the Word of God. The Pocket Companion, 
 
90 
 
 on page 127, says: "Conscience should be permitted always to 
 govern us; and as it directs, so should we ever act." Accord- 
 ingly, we should think the lodge would respect that, and say : 
 This man is, no doubt, honest, and acts according to his con- 
 science, according to his highest authority. But how do you 
 think the lodge treats those who contradict its false doctrines ? 
 It abuses them in the most vulgar terms, although it pretends to 
 be very respectable. The lodge calls me, because, for conscience 
 sake, I am compelled to warn against its false doctrines, on page 
 182 of the Pocket Companion, "base" and "unworthy." It pre- 
 tends, therefore, to allow liberty of conscience, but exercises terri- 
 ble tyranny over the conscience. Every one who opposes its false 
 doctrine, and must do so for conscience sake, is abused as "base" 
 and "unworthy." What would it perhaps do, if it should obtain 
 the exclusive control of the religion of States ? Undoubtedly the 
 time of bloody persecution would return. Yerily, we have reason 
 to pray also in regard to this enemy of our faith : " Rise up, 
 Lord, and let thine enemies be scattered " (Numb. 10 : 35). And : 
 " Return, we beseech thee, God of Hosts : look down from 
 heaven, and behold, and visit this vine ; and the vineyard which 
 thy right hand hath planted, and the branch that thou madest 
 strong for thyself" (Ps. 80:14, 15). Yes, that is the main 
 object of the lodge, particularly of the initiated and leading per- 
 sonalities, to thrust Jesus Christ, slyly and most imperceptibly, 
 from his throne, that is, to remove him from the hearts and 
 homes, from the churches and schools. 
 
EIGHTH DIALOGUE. 
 
 That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith, that 
 ye be rooted and grounded in love. Eph. 3 : 17. 
 
 Ernest. Since our last conversation, I have reflected much 
 upon your last words. You said, namely, that the lodge labored 
 to dislodge Christ from his throne, to remove him from the hearts 
 and homes, churches and schools. When I now reflect on my 
 experience in the lodge ; on everything that was spoken, consid- 
 ered, resolved and done, I must confess that much has occurred 
 which, as a Christian, one cannot approve of. But where is there 
 a society, of any size, in which much that is unchristian does not 
 occur? Is it not the case even with Christian congregations? 
 But I must say that I have never witnessed that on the part of 
 the lodge it was ever resolved or declared : We will extinguish 
 Christ or Christianity. 
 
 Christian. I believe, very readily, that you have never heard 
 such declarations or resolutions of the lodge. One does not do it 
 so bluntly. It would be very fortunate for Christians, especially 
 for such as are weak in Christian knowledge, if the lodge would 
 speak out honestly and openly and declare : We will have nothing 
 to do with Christ ; we will go *to heaven by our own merits ; we 
 therefore reject the doctrine of redemption through the blood and 
 death of Christ, the doctrine of repentance and faith ; indeed it 
 is our mission to abolish Christianity from the earth. I repeat, it 
 
92 
 
 would be very fortunate were the lodge openly to come out with 
 these its secret projects. Then the eyes of the simple would be 
 opened, and no Christian possessed of a spark of Christianity 
 would join the lodge. It would then be over with the spread of 
 the lodge among Christians; and, as up to the present it has mani- 
 fested no inclination to propagate its peculiar tenets among the 
 wild' Bushmen of Africa and the Cannibals of New Zealand, their 
 very existence would be at stake. The leaders are well aware of 
 this fact, and therefore never express themselves openly and hon- 
 estly. The Devil, this seducer from the beginning, has ever acted 
 in the same way. Do you believe that Adam and Eve would have 
 ever suffered themselves to be tempted to sin by the Devil, had he 
 come out openly with his secret designs ? If, for example, the 
 Devil had said : Here, Eve, eat of the fruit of this tree ; it tastes^ 
 good, but your eating will bring upon you the wrath of God, all 
 kinds of temporal misery, will rob you of the peace of G-od ; will 
 deliver you, after much sickness and suffering, unto death, and 
 after death will plunge you into the everlasting torments of hell, 
 what do you think, would Eve have eaten of the fruit ? 
 
 E. Most assuredly not. 
 
 Ch. About as much success would the lodge have among 
 Christians, if it came out openly with its designs, as it should, 
 according to its own motto. This it knows very well, and there- 
 fore seeks, in a very subtle manner, to extirpate Christianity ; 
 and behold, it is only too frequently successful in its efforts. The 
 Devil, by means of cunning lies and frauds, also succeeded in 
 seducing our first parents, and succeeds daily in leading astray 
 their descendants. 
 
 E. How, then, do you think the lodge goes to work ? 
 
 Oh. Not by such resolutions. You can rummage all the 
 writings of the lodge, and will scarcely find such a resolution. I 
 have already read a great mass of publications of the lodge and 
 of its members, not alone those which you brought me, but many 
 
93 
 
 Other books and writings, which I found advertised therein, and 
 have sent for, but have never found such a resolution. It would 
 indeed be the beginning of the end of the lodge. It works in a 
 very different way. It assumes a Christian appearance, and tries 
 to maintain it. It deceives the Christians whom it wishes to win 
 for the lodge, by pretending that the lodge lays great stress upon 
 Christianity, that it has even done a great deal to uphold the 
 knowledge of God and the Christian religion, as it so frequently 
 boasted of in your publications; for example, Manual, p. 130 ff., 
 where it is said such associations were "mighty agents in preserv- 
 ing and perpetuating a knowledge of the truth, as regards both 
 GOD and man." As further proof that the lodge promotes Chris- 
 tianity, they are told that the open Bible lies always upon the 
 table (see Proceedings Grand Lodge of Wisconsin, 1871, p. 1533), 
 that the Ten Commandments are read to every one who is initiated ; 
 that on conferring of the degrees, at funerals, laying of corner- 
 stones, dedication of lodges, &c., &c., portions of the Bible are 
 read and applied ; that the lodge is opened and closed with prayer ; 
 further, that it is precisely the lodge which performs good Chris- 
 tian works, which the congregations ought to do, but neglected, 
 namely, to assist the widows and orphans, to visit and relieve the 
 sick, and to bury the dead. And probably it is reiterated a hun- 
 dred times, as, for example, in Heart and Hand of July 22, 1871, 
 p. 119, that in their secrets and their whole nature there is noth- 
 ing contradictory to our duties toward God, our neighbor and 
 ourselves. And just under this pious pretext, the lodge labors, 
 with all its might, to extirpate Christianity. And that 
 
 E. But how does it set about it, then ? 
 
 Ch. Well, in the first place, tell me in what consists true 
 Christianity. 
 
 E. I could not, perhaps, better express it in a few words, 
 than by saying : In faith in Christ Jesus, in love to him and 
 childlike obedience. 
 
94 
 
 Oh. Therefore the sum and substance of Christianity is Jesus 
 Christ, is he not ? 
 
 E. ^Certainly. The very name " Christian " designates one 
 who believes in, loves and follows Jesus. 
 
 Ch. Very well. Now, nothing less than this center of all 
 Christianity, the lodge attempts to do away with, in making 
 Jesus Christ entirely superfluous to the members of the lodge. 
 On every page of the writings of the lodge, we read that man, in 
 himself, has the ability to make himself a moral man and a citizen 
 and heir of heaven. The lodge declares "the most important 
 uses and aims of Oddfellow ship to be, the imbuing of the minds 
 of our brethren with proper conceptions of their powers and 
 capacities" (Man. p. 112 ff.) ; "to imbue him with conceptions 
 of his capability for good " (Man. p. 47 ff.) ; that a "true Odd 
 Fellow " belongs "to the highest style of man" (p. 269), and that 
 such live "with a conscience void of offence toward God and 
 man," and " their departure from earth is but a translation to a 
 blissful immortality" (p. 157), in order to rest "in that angel 
 land" (Pocket Coinp. p. 182). Now tell me, has he who believes 
 this, still any need of Jesus ? 
 
 E. I cannot see why such should have any need of Jesus^as 
 heir Savior, 
 
 Ch. It is certain, first and above all things, we need the Lord 
 Jesus for the forgiveness of sins, as his blood alone cleanses us 
 from sin (1 John 1:7). But all those who believe what the 
 lodge teaches, have no need of Christ for the forgiveness of sins ; 
 for they do not know that they are poor sinners, worthy of con- 
 demnation, but do all they can to prevent the knowledge of sin, 
 to stifle the convictions of sin, and even profess that they live 
 " with a conscience void of offence toward God and man/' while the 
 Scriptures say (Rom. 3 : 23) : " For all have sinned/' and are all, 
 " by nature, the children of wrath " (Eph. 2 : 3), and : " There 
 is none that doeth good, no, not one" (Rom. 3 : 12^). Is it not 
 
95 
 
 horrible to read such derision of the sacred word of God ? If we, 
 for example, consider the first commandment, in which, among 
 other things, it is said that we should love God above all things, 
 and examine ourselves whether we really do so, we certainly are 
 constrained, with Dr. Luther, to say, that we transgress this com- 
 mandment every hour and minute, because we never love God as 
 we ought to love him. Our conscience is therefore not free from 
 offence toward God, according to this one commandment. In 
 spite of this, -the lodge asserts the contrary, and declares : Our 
 conscience is void of offence toward God. Unto every one, then, 
 who believes this assertion, the Lord Jesus is the most superflu- 
 ous object in the world. Behold, this is the way the lodge works 
 to remove the Lord Jesus from the hearts of its members. Let 
 us suppose the case, that such an Odd Fellow is the father of a 
 family ; will he be likely to lead his children to Jesus, the Savior 
 of sinners ? Will he teach his dear little ones to sing : 
 
 " Jesus' blood and righteousness, 
 That is my ornament and dress 
 With this before God's throne I'll stand 
 When I go to the better land " ? 
 
 Will he endeavor to awaken faith in Christ, and instill love to him 
 in the hearts of his children? Certainly not. And if the mother 
 still has faith in Christ, and directs her children to him, he will, 
 to say the least, with a shrug of the shoulder, smile at her stu- 
 pidity, and in some way manage that the tares of his unbelief do 
 not allow the good seed to spring up in the children's hearts. 
 See ! this is the way the Lord Jesus is driven away from the 
 homes. The next consequence is, that he is also removed from 
 the schools and churches, wherever the influence of the lodge 
 extends so far. That you do not teach the Lord Jesus in your 
 orphan schools, you have already confessed. Therefore you have 
 fortunately (?) banished the Lord Jesus from your schools. And 
 when the true Odd Fellows gain the upper hand in a congre- 
 
96 
 
 gation, they soon banish him also from the church ; that is, they 
 will not suffer that repentance and conversion, faith and reconcilia- 
 tion through the blood of Jesus, be preached. You can find many 
 such congregations in this country. This false doctrine of self- 
 righteousness is the explanation of the fact that we so very seldom 
 find a Free Mason (whose doctrines are the same as yours) or an 
 Odd Fellow who really loves the preaching of the pure gospel, 
 baptism, absolution and the Lord's supper. It is true, we find, 
 here and there, .members of secret societies who contribute largely 
 towards building churches, or defraying the expenses of the con- 
 gregation ; but, that this is not done from love to Christ, they 
 prove by their generally despising the means of grace. Nor can 
 it be otherwise. If I am a " true Odd Fellow," and believe that 
 I can help myself, and by my own virtues merit Heaven, I do not 
 need the assistance of Christ and the means of gr^ace. I cannot 
 possibly still find pleasure in the preaching of repentance and faith. 
 It must be disgusting to me, to hear from the pulpit that I am a 
 poor sinner ; intolerable, that I should be called upon to repent ; 
 my heart must revolt when I hear that through pure grace I must 
 be saved, and that all my good works can help me nothing in get- 
 ting to Heaven. I am not at all surprised that the majority of the 
 lodge members maintain, or sooner or later will maintain such a 
 position. From the seed which is sown in the lodge and all its 
 publications, no other fruit -can grow. 
 
 E. Do you believe that all think so ? 
 
 Ch. I hope not ; be it far from me to assert that. On the 
 contrary, I believe that there are many in the lodge who do not 
 know or are aware what a terrible association they have joined, 
 who know themselves to be miserable sinners, who believe in Christ 
 and hope to be saved through him. I am only speaking of what 
 the fruit of such sowing is and must be when it springs up, and 
 what general experience teaches. I also believe, most assuredly, 
 that you, since joining the lodge, have often enough experienced, 
 
97 
 
 that this sowing of false doctrine has brought forth the sad fruit 
 of disinclination to and inward estrangement from the word of 
 God, in most members. 
 
 E. Certainly that is a fact, as I well know, confirmed by ex- 
 perience. I only wanted to hear if you made no exceptions. But, 
 as you do, I can make no objections to what you say. 
 
 Oh. Yea, God be praised that there are still exceptions. It 
 is his great mercy that many (as I hope) have a better faith than 
 the lodge teaches. That is certainly no merit of the lodge, but 
 the great compassion of God. Such, however, stand in great 
 danger of soon losing their faith entirely ; for such a communion 
 with unbelievers has always a very injurious influence. They 
 make themselves, continually, " partakers of other men's sins," 
 and transgress God's express commandment (2 Cor. 14 : 17). 
 May God, in his mercy, have compassion on these deceived and 
 blinded souls, who are thus led astray, and open their eyes before 
 it is too late. 
 
 While I think of it, let me call your attention to the publica- 
 tions of the order and their anti-christian tone. Should I indeed 
 mention all the anti-christian sentiments contained therein, I 
 should really not know where to end. But only a few. The Grand 
 Representative, F. S. Ostheim, who represented the Grand Lodge 
 of Oregon in the Convention of the Grand Lodge of the United 
 States, held in Baltimore in September, 1870, and who soon after 
 went to Germany, wrote, on the 20th of April, a long letter, which 
 is printed in your paper, " The Odd Fellow," in the June number 
 of 1871, p. 369. In this letter, Mr. F. S. Ostheim states that the 
 order had been introduced into Germany, and writes, among other 
 things: " Whether Jew, Turk or Christian, is immaterial to the 
 irrefutable laws of nature, which are based upon reason, just as in 
 general such like human institutions, however beneficial their influ- 
 ence may prove, are frequently only calculated to enchain the world 
 in the shackles of error and prejudice. A universal brotherhood, 
 
98 
 
 on the contrary, presupposes that harmony, which we perceive 
 everywhere in the works of a latent power which we call God. 
 The same (the brotherhood of the Odd Fellows, namely, the 
 Author) is therefore divine, is a divine institution, which bids 
 defiance to the intrigues of earthly decrees. The accord of this 
 harmony finds its best expression in our hearts. If the heart 
 beats only for what is good and noble, it needs no other religion 
 than that which it dictates to itself. It is our order which chiefly 
 promotes these cosmopolitan principles, and therefore its propaga- 
 tion in all civilized countries may of right be considered as of so 
 much greater importance." From these words we see: 1st, that 
 with Mr. Ostheiin tho religion of a Jew or Turk passes for at least 
 as much, if not more, than that of a Christian ; 2d, that he calls 
 the Christian church, with her confession, " a human institution" ; 
 therefore does not recognize Jesus Christ, the true God, to have 
 founded the Christian church; indeed, he holds the church, with 
 her doctrines and faith, without expressing it in as many words, 
 to be an institution for spreading ignorance, calculated "to bind 
 the world in tlio shackles of error and prejudice" ; 3d, that he 
 acknowledges no personal God who possesses a self-existent being 
 and free motion, but only a "latent (that is, concealed, secret) 
 power, " which he calls God. Perhaps Mr. Ostheiin imagines this 
 secret power, which ho calls God, to be similar to the power of the 
 magnet, which is also secret ; we do not see or hear it, but only 
 recognize its existence by the effect, when, namely, a piece of iron 
 is brought near it. As, therefore, the power of the magnet is in 
 man's control, that is, he can allow it to work or not, so, it would 
 seem, Mr. 0. represents to himself tho imaginary God ; that it 
 therefore lies in his power to allow his God to work, and to inter- 
 fere when he pleases and to prevent it when he pleases. A fine 
 God that ! 4th, we see that Mr. 0. teaches, no man needs any 
 other religion than what his own heart dictates to him, when it 
 only "beats for what is good and noble." Does Mr. 0. recognize 
 
90 
 
 the sacred Scriptures as the rule and standard of his religion? 
 By no means ! His own heart, which, like every one's heart, is 
 corrupt, perverted, and obscured by sin, is to him the sole rule 
 and standard of his religion; what that "dictates 7 ' to him is 
 perfectly sufficient, and certainly, according to his opinion, is also 
 the best. Mr. O. has therefore the same religion which every 
 Heathen, Jew, Turk, unbeliever and scorner of God has. Finally, 
 5th, we learn therefrom what the lodge really aims at. Mr.. 0. 
 writes : " It is our order which chiefly promotes these cosmopoli- 
 tan principles (the maxims of universal religion), and therefore its ; 
 propagation in all civilized countries may of right be considered 
 as of so much greater importance." Therefore the order, particu- 
 larly its leaders, like this " Grand Representative," are clearly 
 conscious that by their " principles " the religion of their own' 
 heart, which suits Heathen, Jews, Turks and all unbelievers, will 
 mostly be extended, and true Christianity thereby be exterminated; ' 
 For this reason, they labor with all zeal to lead souls astray not 
 only in this country, but also in other countries, and for this pur- 
 pose the order has been transplanted to Germany. In the Manual, ^ 
 pp. 110, 441, and in -The Odd Fellow" for May, 1871, p. 310, 
 it is said that the pecuniary benefits are ' scarcely a tithe" of the 
 44 aims and objects" of the lodge, indeed that they are only 
 4 'means to the end." What are, then, the other nine-tenths of 
 their "aims and objects"? The above mentioned number of 
 " The Odd Fellow," page 10, answers this question thus : " It is 
 the great aim of the brotherhood of the Odd Fellows ... to give 
 their adherents a correct understanding of the relation between 
 God and man." That means, in plain language, something like 
 this: We will extend our religion, which "our own heart dic- 
 tates," among our members and as much farther as we possibly 
 can, and we will extirpate the Christian religion, with its Christ, 
 in so far as we are able to do so. We will not have the God of 
 the Bible ; we have made one according to our imagination, and 
 
100 
 
 we will not allow the Bible to define *our relation tp hup. ; no, w6 
 will do that ourselves, according to the pleasure of our own 
 hearts. 
 
 E. Well, God be praised that Mr. Ostheim's religion is not 
 mine. 
 
 Ch. What do the papers of the order say, now, to this doc- 
 trine of Mr. 0., which he plainly enough represents to be the 
 doctrine of the order ? Is there in all your papers, numbering 
 about twelve, only one dissenting voice to be heard, which says : 
 " No, that is not our doctrine "1 Not a single one is to be heard. 
 Nay, still more. This Mr. Ostheim, who has so decidedly spoken 
 as an infidel ; who declares that he does not believe in a personal 
 God, and recognizes no biblical doctrine, but only that of his own 
 heart ; this infidel is highly extolled in your papers. The editor 
 of your paper, " Heart and Hand," introduces him, for example, 
 jn the number of July loth, 1871, page 109, as his personal friend 
 and brother, and calls the heart, which had made this confession 
 of unbelief, a " noble" one. And, as it was Mr. 0. who first 
 proposed the introduction of the order into Germany, and pressed 
 it with all ardor, there is no end to his praise. Truly, whoever 
 knows nothing of the lodge except this confession of Mr. 0., 
 knows what it is and what are its designs. 
 
 Among the people, it is commonly believed that the Free Ma- 
 sons and Odd Fellows have a covenant with the devil. If by this 
 is meant that they have, in a certain form, given themselves over 
 and bound themselves by a written document to the devil, it is 
 erroneous ; but if thereby is meant, that by the false doctrine 
 which they adopt, the devil gradually acquires more and more 
 power over them, blinds them more and more, and leads them 
 away from the path to Heaven, so that at length he gets them 
 entirely in his power, unless God takes compassion upon them, it 
 is entirely correct. This belief of the people contains a profound 
 truth. In reality, it matters very little, whether I give myself up 
 
101 
 
 ut Once to the devil, or whether, by apostacy from Christ, I gradu- 
 ally give him more and more room, so that in the end I become 
 his own. In either case, I am in his power and am his captive 
 (2 Tim. 2 : 26). This sowing of false doctrine must produce evil 
 fruit. Not only that thereby all true faith, all love to God and 
 his word are torn from the heart, but heathenism, similar to that 
 in New Zealand, eren if in a more polished form, must gradually 
 grow. The pernicious consequences of such doctrines in social 
 life must more and more come to light, and gradually undermine 
 all truth and faith, all real morality. I will adduce but one exam- 
 ple to show in how far that already manifests itself. In the 
 "Odd Fellow" of October, 1870, page 626, the decisions granted 
 by the Grand Sire, in the course of the year, are given. The 
 Grand Sire is, namely, the highest authority of the order, and 
 has to decide on all questions, in the course of the year, and the 
 annual assembly of the Grand Lodge must approve of or reject 
 these decisions. Among others, in the course of the year 1869- 
 1870, the following question was submitted to him : " When a 
 brother renounces Odd Fellowship, whether the lodge can regard 
 it, as a resignation from the order ; if not, to what extent does it 
 affect his membership? Answer in the negative, and that such 
 so-called renunciation * of the order has no effect whatever upon 
 his membership or standing in the lodge?"* The Grand Sire, 
 therefore, permits the members of the lodge, when it seems ad- 
 vantageous to them, readily to swear they are not Odd Fellows, 
 and by this decision protects them, so that the lodge to which 
 they belong cannot and dare not punish them, by declaring that 
 "such so-called renunciation of the order has no effect whatever 
 upon their membership or standing in the lodge. " He thereby not 
 
 * The " Odd Fellow," a German paper for Odd Fellows, published by 
 M. C. Lilley & Co., Columbus Ohio, uses the word a Abschwoerung " 
 abjuration. 
 
lu-2 
 
 only approves of perjury, but also takes the perjurer under hit 
 protection. And what has the Grand Lodge of the United States 
 done in regard to this decision ? Did it reject it as ungodly, a& 
 approving, protecting and promoting the sin of perjury ? By no 
 means I It approved of this decision, as you can read in Proceed- 
 ings of the Grand Lodge of the United States, 1870, page 4716, 
 and on page 697 of the " Odd Fellow " of November, 1870. The 
 entire lodge of the Odd Fellows, from the smallest to the greatest, 
 approve hereby of perjury. Every Odd Fellow may now, once or 
 ten times, swear that he is no Odd Fellow and does not belong to 
 the lodge, and what lodge can exclude him on account of this per- 
 jury ? Not a single one ! Indeed no lodge dare undertake to 
 punish him or to make remonstrances against this terrible sin, 
 because, as is expressly said, this ''has no effect whatever upon 
 his membership or standing in the lodge." The lodge considers 
 perjury as a trifle, for which no member dare be brought to 
 account. Can one, after all this, believe an Odd Fellow, even 
 under oath ? It is impossible for me to do so ; for whosoever 
 knowingly and willingly perjures himself in one thing, why should 
 he not always swear falsely, when his heart, which naturally " beats 
 only for what is good and noble, dictates," or when it seems to him 
 to his purpose? A fine specimen of the much lauded "morals" 
 of the Odd Fellows ! 
 
 E. Is that really said there ? 
 
 Ch. Here, read it for yourself, and, that you may not think 
 the paper gives a false account, see here, in your Digest the same 
 is said twice, on pages 263 and 368.* 
 
 * This decision of the "Grand Sire" and its approval can be read in 
 all the reports of the State Grand Lodges and Grand Encampments, at their 
 first sessions after the above mentioned Contention of the Grand Lodge of 
 the United States, which therefore were held in the fall of 1870 or in the 
 following year ; for example, Annual Communication of the R. W. Grand 
 
103 
 
 E. I could not have believed that to be possible ! There it 
 really stands, and is really so. I read the report of the Grand 
 Lodge of the United States at that time, but this did not at all 
 occur to me ; neither did I attach any particular importance to it. 
 But I must say. that I most positively disapprove of and reject 
 such a decision, and can now and never more give my consent 
 to it. 
 
 Ch. Well, the Grand Lodge of the United States will give 
 itself very little concern about that. When 400,000 Odd Fellows 
 approve of this decision and one, or, for all I care, a whole half 
 dozen do not agree to it, that would hinder or retard it just as 
 little as a small grain of sand could stop a wagon. It has resolved 
 so, and will uphold its resolution so long as it seems to be politic 
 It has, however, hereby again put on record that it does not 
 acknowledge the Word of God, which pronounces heavy punish- 
 ment on perjury, and that Mr. Ostheim is correct when he says 
 that the lodge only accepts the religion which its own heart dic- 
 tates. This standard of its religion, namely, its own heart, has 
 "dictated" this; its "highest authority/' its conscience, approves 
 it, "instructs it so"; therefore it is right. Indeed, one would 
 think that whoever had a spark of Christianity left in him, must 
 be convinced by such facts, that the lodge not only has nothing 
 of God's word, but is thoroughly anti-christian. The devil, how- 
 ever, holds his captives fast and blinds them more and more, that 
 with seeing eyes they do not see. and with hearing ears they do 
 not hear. This decision was laid before all the State Grand 
 Lodges, all the publishers of your papers are acquainted with it. 
 
 Lodge I. O,O, F. of Iowa, October, 1870, p, 242 ; Ann. Communication of 
 the Grand Encampment of the same month and year, p. 85 ; Proceedings 
 of the E. W, Grand Lodge of Wisconsin, 1871, . '1526 ; of the Grand 
 Encampment, 1871, p, 205 : Minutes of the K. W, Grand Encampment of 
 Pennsylvania, from June, 1870, to May, 1871, p. 16. 
 
104 
 
 Have you ever heard that even one State Grand Lodge or one 
 paper had opposed it ? 
 
 E. No, I have not. 
 
 CJi. Just as little have I, And this more than sufficiently 
 proves, that they all acknowledge this decision, all approve of and 
 protect perjury. " Lo, they have rejected the word of the Lord, 
 and what wisdom is in them?'' (Jer. 8 : 9). That, however, in 
 spite of such facts, almost every eye of the 400,000 Odd Fellows 
 remains closed, proves again that rnan, by nature, is entirely dark- 
 ened, and cannot come to the true knowledge without the enlight- 
 ening of God the Holy Spirit. But how shall the poor member of 
 the lodge come to knowledge, seeing that the lodge seeks xo remove 
 them as far as possible from the Word of God and God v & word from 
 them ? May God have compassion ! 
 
NINTH DIALOGUE. 
 
 I am crucified with Christ ; nevertheless I live : 
 yet not I, but Christ liveth in me : and the life 
 which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith 
 of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave him- 
 self forme. Gal. 2:20. 
 
 Christian. Neighbor, you have not shown yourself for a long 
 while. What does that mean ? Surely you are not angry with 
 me ? 
 
 Ernest. No, God be praised, I am not angry with you, but, 
 on the contrary, owe you many thanks. I have had a hard time 
 to go through. 
 
 Ch. In what respect ? 
 
 E. After we had conversed together, for several evenings, 
 about the lodge, it gradually became clear to my mind, that what 
 the lodge tenches is not in unison with the sacred Scriptures. It 
 lasted, however, a good while before I could bring myself to con- 
 fess it to you. The words of God in Galatians 6 : 10, particularly, 
 threw light on the subject, as well as the approval of the terrible 
 perjury of which we spoke last time. I however always sought 
 to strengthen myself in the opinion that it was not necessary for 
 me to separate from the lodge, because, I said to myself, that by 
 my remaining in it I could perhaps change some things for the 
 better. I also made some slight attempts to do so, but, upon the 
 whole, have had the same experience that N. writes that he did, 
 
106 
 
 although in* a somewhat milder form. I gradually gained a clearer 
 knowledge of the subject, and learned to understand that the sins 
 of false doctrine, the denial of Christ and of salvation through 
 grace alone, are much worse than those committed against men. 
 I have been especially benefited by the sermons which our minis- 
 ter preached a short time ago, on Romans 3 and 4, wherein he so 
 clearly and plainly proved from the Scriptures, that we can only 
 be saved by grace through the merit of Jesus Christ, that I think 
 everybody must say yea and amen to it. Then my conscience 
 began to reproach me on account of my connection with the lodge, 
 as an alliance of unbelief, and because it teaches contrary to the 
 word of Grod and professed infidels belong to it, with whom Chris- 
 tians, according to God's word, should have no ** communion." 
 The passage (2 Cor. 6 : 14-17) was day and night in my mind, 
 where it is said : " Be ye separate " ; "be ye not unequally yoked 
 together with unbelievers" ; and Eph. 5 : 11 : " Have no fellow- 
 ship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove 
 them." The verse, also, which I had learned in my school days, 
 occurred to me: "And that servant which knew his Lord's will 
 and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall 
 be beaten with many stripes. " A terrible struggle arose in my 
 heart. Sometimes it was : No ; you are a Christian ; you can no 
 longer be a member of the lodge, no longer remain in the commun- 
 ion of unbelievers, no longer transgress (rod's commandment ; you 
 should declare your withdrawal. Then again it was : Will you 
 bid adieu to all truly good friends which you have in the lodge, 
 and against whom you have nothing to allege ? Will you never 
 visit any more that place where you nevertheless have learned 
 much that was useful ? Will you throw away all the money which 
 you have paid in for these many years ? No, that will never do ! 
 Besides, after all, the thing is not so very bad. Consider how 
 much good the lodge has effected. Many widows and orphans 
 have been assisted, many tears dried, much temporal want pre- 
 
107 
 
 vented. But scarcely had I endeavored in this way to quiet 
 myself, when my conscience cried: " Whoever knew his Lord's 
 will and did it not, shall be beaten with many stripes" ! Can you 
 remain there, where your Lord Jesus, who has loved you unto 
 death, and shed his blood for you, is wickedly denied and cruci- 
 fied ? Confess your Lord, then he will confess you, not only with 
 words but also in deeds. If you do it not, you deny your Lord, 
 are worse than Peter, make yourself partaker of other men's sins, 
 strengthen by your example your best friends in the delusion that 
 they are in the right way. Separate yourself! have no communion 
 with unbelievers ! So the tempest raged in my heart. Then I 
 determined once more to examine the matter quietly and thor- 
 oughly. I begged God for light, took our manuals in hand, 
 examined everything strictly, compared the doctrines with the 
 sficred Scriptures; and the more I examined and compared, the 
 clearer it became to my mind, that the lodge and God's word con- 
 tradict each other, even when they seem to agree, as, for example,, 
 in regard to the ten commandments. Even there, I learned to see 
 that there was no agreement, farther than in the sound of words, 
 and that the lodge denies the Lawgiver, the Triune God, and per- 
 verts the nature and true meaning of the ten commandments. In 
 no place did the irreconcilable antagonism of the doctrine of the 
 lodge to that of the Scriptures strike me more forcibly and con- 
 vincingly, than in the doctrine of salvation. By this examination 
 I have learned that it is literally true : the lodge teaches that we 
 can be saved by our own virtues, while the sacred Scriptures teach 
 we can be saved alone by faith in Jesus Christ. It became more 
 and more clear to my mind, by this examination, that it was a 
 grievous sin for me to remain longer in an association that teaches 
 such grievous errors ; and still I could not yet summon up cour- 
 age to resolve': I will tell them that I withdraw from them. I 
 wanted to come to you, was already near your house, but had 
 no courage to come in and speak with you about the matter. I 
 
108 
 
 think shame held me back, for I well knew your opinion before- 
 hand 
 
 Ch. I should have been very glad had you come in. What 
 such and similar battles with our evil hearts are, I know well 
 enough from my own experience. You did not need to be 
 ashamed. 
 
 E. Not being able, as yet, to come to the resolution to do 
 what the word of God demands, and to which my conscience 
 urged me, I prayed frequently and earnestly that our faithful 
 God would grant me courage and strength. He has promised to 
 hear prayer, and I received courage and joy fulness to form the reso- 
 lution ; so that I, after quiet deliberation, made up my mind to 
 renounce the lodge. But I would first lay the whole matter 
 before our pastor, and for that purpose called on him a short time 
 ago. I first begged him to give me his opinion about the conne*c- 
 tion of a Christian with the lodge. This, of course, according to 
 Scripture, could be no other than he gave it He said, among 
 other things : " A Christian, who believes in his Lord Jesus and 
 knows the false doctrine of the lodge and its antagonism to the 
 church, cannot possibly be a member of the lodge without deny- 
 ing Christ. " When I told him I was convinced of it, and was 
 now resolved to separate from the lodge, he praised God, and was 
 heartily rejoiced. He added much more, and encouraged me to 
 take this step courageously, in God's name. He referred me to 
 the example of the Apostle Paul, who had also been in the fellow- 
 ship of an unbelieving body, namely, the sect of the Pharisees, 
 who also rejected Christ; but as soon as he had come to the 
 knowledge of the truth, he had separated himself from them and 
 had followed Christ alone. He also exhorted me, when I should 
 announce my withdrawal from the lodge, to do it in a quiet, hum- 
 ble and gentle manner, and to tell the lodge members the plain 
 truth, and give the real reason for my leaving. For, he said, in 
 jsuch a case it did not suiRce that a Christian merely declare his 
 
109 
 
 withdrawal, but it was absolutely demanded that he should con- 
 fess Christ and show that the teaching of the lodge most glaringly 
 contradicts the word of God, and that on that account he with- 
 drew, and, as a Christian, was bound to do so. Such testimony he 
 thought could perhaps, sooner or later, produce good fruit. Fin- 
 ally, he admonished me, whenever I had an opportunity, to show 
 all manner of kindness to the lodge members, the more so because 
 these people usually imagine we hate them, and that this is the 
 reason we withdraw from them. I should therefore prove by my 
 acts, that instead of hating, I really loved them. Well, that I 
 should have done of my own self; for God knows I love their 
 persons and do not hate them. After our beloved pastor had 
 wished me God's blessing upon my purpose, I left him joyfully 
 and with a light heart. At the last meeting of the lodge I carried 
 out my resolution and made known my withdrawal. 
 
 Oh. Now, praise and thanks be to God 1 But how was your 
 resolution received ? 
 
 E. I declared that I was bound by my conscience to announce 
 my withdrawal, and then began to give the reasons for so doing, 
 saying that the lodge teaches the direct opposite of what the 
 sacred Scriptures teach. The lodge teaches, in all its books and 
 publications, that man giust make himself worthy of Heaven and 
 gain it by his own virtues; the word of God, howevjr, teaches 
 that we can only be saved by grace, through Jesus Christ. Thte 
 was clearly and plainly written, for example, Titus 3:5: " Not 
 by works of righteousness which we have done.'' And 1 was 
 about to quote this passage, as well as some others, when the 
 Noble Grand called me to order and said that anything like that 
 was entirely out of place here. The doctrine of the Bible did not 
 concern us as a lodge ; we dare not dispute about religion here. 
 This was a lodge meeting, and in it we dare only transact lodge 
 business. I tried once more to gain the floor, and when I suc- 
 ceeded I said I had certainly the right to give my reasons for 
 
110 
 
 leaving the lodge, and would beg them to listen. This 7 was 
 then permitted to do, with the remark to be brief. I then went 
 on : " The lodge teaching directly contrary to the teachings of 
 the Scriptures, I am, as a Christian, compelled to separate from 
 it and declare my withdrawal. The lodge, for example, teaches 
 that we are saved by works ; the holy Scriptures, however, say we 
 are saved by grace. I beg you not to think that this step is taken: 
 from ill will toward the members of the lodge.'* This declaration 
 seemed to make a very different impression on the different mem- 
 bers. Some looked at me with a compassionate shrug of the* 
 shoulders ; others with doubtful, apparently sneering smiles ; stilL 
 others looked sullen, yea, angry. Several speakers now arose- 
 What was said, I prefer to keep to myself, From some, it is true, 
 I expected nothing else ; from others I had hoped for something 
 better. Ah, it makes me really sorry for the poor benighted 
 souls 1 I heartily wish that many of them came to the knowledge 
 of the truth. 
 
 Ch. I am rejoiced that you have taken this step. We will 
 thank God heartily therefor ; for it is not our merit, but entirely 
 his grace, when we learn the truth. If we had not his blessed 
 Word as a light unto our path, and did he not give us the grace 
 of his Holy Spirit to enlighten our min^J, we could never more 
 attain to a saving knowledge. Neither will we forget to pray 
 earnestly for those who are still under the pernicious influence of 
 false doctrine and of unbelieving fellowship. We will pray in the 
 words of that beautiful hymn : 
 
 " Fill with the radiance of Thy grace 
 The souls now lost in error's maze, 
 And all, O Lord, whose secret minds 
 Some dark delusion hurts and blinds. 
 And all who else have strayed from Thee, 
 O, gently seek ! Thy healing be 
 To every wounded conscience given, 
 And let them also share Thy Heaven. 77 
 
Ill 
 
 I also wish that it would please God to compensate you richly in 
 earthly things for what you have lost hy taking this step. 
 
 E. I believe the blessed God has done that long since. He 
 has given us health, and preserved it until now, that we could 
 earn our daily bread and something beside. He, who provides 
 for the birds and clothes the lilies, will surely support and clothe 
 us. The lost money is nothing but temporal blessing ; not that I 
 would by any means despise temporal blessings ; they are also 
 gifts of God's grace ; but the spiritual blessings and gifts, such ad 
 forgiveness of sins, peace with God, joy in the Holy Ghost and 
 everlasting salvation, are certainly a thousand times more valuable 
 than all the goods of this earth. And surely Paul is not wrong 
 when he says: "I count all things but loss for the excellency of 
 the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord" (Phil. 3 : 8). It being 
 a sin to remain any longer in the lodge, and I being in great 
 danger of losing my salvation, and strengthening others in their 
 error by my example, it was, according to God's worl, my duty 
 to take this step. I will joyfully bear the trifling loss of earthly 
 things. 
 
 Oh. Blessed are we, when we are ready to leave all and to 
 sacrifice everything, if Christ desires it of us, that we may confess 
 and follow him. 
 
 E. When I look back upon my more than ten years' association 
 with the lodge, it grieves me to the heart that I till now have lived 
 in such blindness, approved of sins against God and his blessed 
 word, and did not sooner come to the knowledge of the truth. 
 May God in mercy forgive me. I did not, until lately, clearly see 
 what a great sin it is for a Christian to unite with the lodge, nor 
 how grievously the lodge sins by denying the true God and his 
 word ; yet I have, now and then, felt as if some things were not 
 in order. To mention only one, it never seemed right to me, 
 that the lodge, which so frequently boasts of being a society for 
 charitable purposes and mutual aid, did not render more assist- 
 
112 
 
 ance to the poor and weak outside of the order. I once endeav - 
 ored to labor in that direction, and said, since persons with chronic 
 diseases, old people and such as could not earn their own support, 
 as our regulations and laws now are, could not be received as 
 members, the lodge might grant them, of its own free will, a 
 weekly assistance. But I did not succeed. It was answered that 
 the resources of the lodge would not allow it ; and yet we had 
 many wealthy members, and some who had many thousands upon 
 interest. That grieved me to the heart. 
 
 Oh. Yes, that is really so. The lodge sounds its trumpet 
 loudly in praise of its deeds of charity, but, strictly considered, it 
 only cares for itself. Egotism and self-interest are its governing 
 motives. And yet nearly all the members of the lodge are so 
 blinded, that they see neither the false doctrine nor the wrong 
 doing. The lodge proves itself to be anti-christian in doctrine 
 and practice. But, in spite of this, it endeavors to make the 
 people believe that this order of Odd Fellows " was instituted for 
 the glory of God " ; that it is its duty " to let ike light of truth 
 shine forth also in this country "; that in the lodge, which is 
 called "the House of God," "Friendship, Love and Truth are 
 practiced" (See " Odd Fellow," August, 1870, p. 500 ff..). 
 And yet, strictly speaking, the order has no truth, least of all, 
 one which promotes "the glory of God." The members of the 
 lodge call themselves "the people of God's pasture" and "the 
 sheep of his hand" (Manual, p. 163), and assert that they will 
 reform the world (Compare Man., pp. 113, 132 ff., 384; Pocket 
 Comp., p. Ill, 309 ff.). Yea, the lodge does not hesitate to act 
 as if it were the Charch of God, and to apply prophecies given to 
 the Church to itself (Compare Man., p. 125, 134, &c.). What, 
 in reality, is its position toward the church, with her Word and 
 Sacraments, we see, for example, from the action of the Grand 
 Lodge of West Virginia, which, at its Convention in April, 1870, 
 approved of and confirmed the exclusion of two members of William 
 
118 
 
 Tell Lodge, No. 6, because they belonged to a congregation which 
 rejects the doctrines and principles of the order, and declared, on 
 this occasion, that if a member of such a congregation united 
 with the lodge, he should immediately withdraw from the congre- 
 gation.* It does not stop to inquire whether it is a congrega- 
 tion's right or duty to reject their doctrine. Exalted above God's 
 word and Church, it arbitrarily commands what seems good unto 
 itself. 
 
 E. It is indeed a melancholy truth, that the lodge, with its 
 doctrine and practice, stands in entire antagonism to the Church 
 of Christ. It is true, his word is not recognized ; they think 
 nothing of it, and consider themselves far above it. 
 
 Ch. The Lord Jesus says (Matt. 7 : 16, 17) : " Ye shall know 
 them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns or figs of 
 thistles ? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit ; but 
 a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit." The worst of all the 
 "evil fruits " which this order brings forth, is its false doctrine. 
 First of all, and the most terrible of all maxims, is, that not the 
 sacred Scriptures, but conscience, perverted by sin and ungoverned 
 by the word of God, is the highest " authority," the only rule and 
 standard in matters of religion and faith. From this follow, and 
 must necessarily follow, all other fundamental errors, such as : 
 the false doctrine of God and the denial of the holy Trinity ; the 
 false doctrine of adoption by God, of salvation and of prayer. 
 From these false doctrines proceed, then, the evil fruits in practi- 
 cal life, such as : contempt of God's word, of the Church and the 
 Sacraments ; hatred toward the true children of God ; egotism 
 and selfishness ; the extolling of selfish works as deeds of charily 
 and good works, which merit heaven ; the approval, yea encour- 
 agement and defence of the* most frightful perjury, and the like 
 
 * See " Heart and Hand/' Aug. 13th, 1870. 
 
114 
 
 E. Praise and thanks be to our faithful Q-od that he ha 
 brought me out of darkness and uncertainty to the true knowl- 
 edge, and has saved me from this corrupt association. May 
 God graciously save many more, yea, if it were possible, all who 
 are still imprisoned in this darkness, and bring them to the light 
 of life. 
 
 Ch. That is also my desire and prayer. May the Lord, our 
 God, grant his " Yea" and " Amen" thereto! 
 
APPENDIX 
 
 .a-iStf ef &fcetdj of tfje rfcet of trtr Jpeiiotos, 
 
 DRAWN FROM THEIR OWN PUBLICATIONS. 
 
 I. ANTIQUITY OF THE ORDER. 
 
 Almost without exception, the members of secret societies seek 
 to represent their order as of ancient origin. Particularly is this 
 the case with Free Masons and Odd Fellows. They take pains to 
 prove that their order dates back to the Roman Emperor Nero, to 
 Solomon, yea even to Adam. In the Grand Lodge of the United 
 States there is "an emblem representing Adam laying the founda- 
 tion-stone of the order " (Manual, p. 24). That this is ridiculous, 
 every Christian must see at the first glance. Were it true that the 
 lodge reached back as far as Solomon or Adam, we would willingly 
 leave them this more than doubtful honor ; but it is by no means 
 true. But why is it that so many members of the lodge take 
 pains to spread the opinion that their order is of so ancient origin? 
 No doubt in order by its great age to create a great impression, 
 
116 
 
 to make it appear as if their order was some old, venerable insti- 
 tution, and because venerable, doubtless also something good. To 
 this end, they do not hesitate to represent John the Baptist, John 
 the Evangelist, Solomon, Closes, Aaron and Adam as Free Masons 
 or Odd Fellows. 
 
 That the Odd Fellows, in proving the antiquity of their order, 
 must contradict themselves in the most ridiculous manner, is evi- 
 dent, because not the slightest real proof of great age can be 
 adduced from history ; and that for the very simple reason that 
 in old times there was no order of Odd Fellows. In the Improved 
 Manual for Odd Fellows, by A. B. Grosh, we read, on page 25, 
 that all the traditions of the origin of the order under Adam, 
 Moses and Aaron, during the Babylonish captivity and the Roman 
 Emperors, " and other baseless and silly stories, .... have been 
 utterly discarded as without proof and absurd, by the Grand 
 Lodge of the United States," and that many years ago. Not- 
 withstanding, the "Pocket-Book of the Odd Fellows," of 1868, 
 takes pains, in all earnestness, to make the members believe that the 
 order is no doubt of very ancient origin. We read (p. 14 if.) as 
 follows : " Some have dated it (the order) as far back as Adam, 
 who was said to have laid the foundation-stone of the order. 
 Others intimate that it existed among the ancient Jewish priest- 
 hood, under the lead of Moses and Aaron. One says that it was 
 organized in A. D. 55, among the Roman soldiers, and that its 
 present name was suggested by Caesar, who called the brethren 
 Odd Fellows because they recognized each other by day and by 
 night. It has been proved * that the order was established in 
 the Spanish dominions in the fifth century, and that it was also 
 introduced into Portugal in the sixth century, by King Henry ; 
 that in the twelfth century it Was established in France, and 
 afterward in England, by John De Neville, attended by five 
 
 * Where is this proof to be found ? 
 
117 
 
 knights from France, who formed a 'Loyal Grand Lodge of 
 Honor 1 ' in London, that existed until the eighteenth century, 
 during the reign of George III, when a part of them began to 
 form a society of their own, a portion of which remains up to the 
 prenent clay ; that the lodges which originated from these sev- 
 eral organizations are numerous throughout the world, and have 
 been called, at different periods, 'Loyal Ancient Odd Fellows,' 
 ' Union Odd Fellows' and 'Manchester Union Odd Fellows.'' 
 '"./ see no good reason," the author of the book says further, 
 "why these historical accounts of the order should be disputed, 
 and am inclined, therefore, to believe that it emanated from some 
 of the original sources above named." The same inextricable 
 contradiction is also to be found in the periodicals of the order ; 
 for example, in the paper bearing the title, " The Odd Fellow." 
 In the July number, of 1870, page 430, the traditions of the great 
 age of the Odd Fellows, their existence in the times of Moses, 
 Solomon and the Roman emperors are called "baseless*' and 
 "ridiculous assertions." On page 439, however, the writer of 
 an article seeks to prove that the origin or the foundation of the 
 order dates back to the reign of the Emperor Nero, because it was 
 founded in the year 55 after Christ, by Roman soldiers. At that 
 time they called the members of this society Fellow-citizens. The 
 name which they bear to-day was given them twenty-four years 
 after the foundation of the order by the Emperor Titus. With 
 such contradictory nonsense and fabricated history, men are fooled 
 by those who have < Truth " for their motto and who pretend that 
 lies are banished from their midst. 
 
 The order is of very recent origin, as has frequently been 
 proved by history, and not yet been refuted ; among others, by 
 Prof. Hengstenberg, in his book, " Freemasonry and the Evan- 
 gelical Pastoral Office," Berlin, 1854. The Freemasonry of to-day 
 was fabricated in the year 1717, on the 24th of June, in London, 
 England, and so came into existence. Previous to that time there 
 
118 
 
 never were such Free Mason lodges. It is true there were Masons ; 
 guilds at an earlier date, as also the other crafts had their guilds 
 and associations, and some have them still. Those Masons' guilds 
 and unions had nothing in common with our Free Masons of to-day. 
 The Masons' associations previous to 1717 were governed by the 
 Word of (rod, and exercised Christian discipline. No one was 
 admitted into these associations who despised God's word or the 
 holy sacraments ; the masters and overseers guarded Christian 
 order and required a godly life. 
 
 In the year 1717 the present Freemasonry was "invented," 
 which, unlike the Masons of old and their guilds, labors with 
 the trowel and hammer, but uses them in plays and fooleries. 
 Neither is it the aim of this society of Free Masons to improve 
 and perfect themselves in the art of architecture, which was one 
 of the chief objects of the ancient guild of Masons; but their aim 
 was to bring men, who until then had believed in and lived accord- 
 ing to God's word, another light, namely, that natural religion 
 which every one has by nature, even from his birth, and to con- 
 vince them that it is the one right and true religion. Thereby 
 they did then and do now design to "enlighten" the spirit of 
 man, and of course bring all those, who suffer themselves to be 
 thus "enlightened," away from the light of God's word into the 
 thick darkness of their own blinded hearts. 
 
 That the Freemasonry of to-day is not older, we can learn from 
 the book of R. Clemen, "The Origin, Development and Signifi- 
 cation of Secret Societies," Columbus, Ohio, 1860. The author 
 is a genuine Free Mason and Odd Fellow, which he proves, among 
 other things, by what he says on page 61 : Many of the ancients 
 understood the birth of God's Son literally, took the type for the 
 idea concealed in the type, and accordingly those of modern times 
 believe also in a literal sense in the Son of God. And, in order 
 to prevent this belief, that is contradictory to the very Being of 
 God, from going to decay, they take the greatest pains to pervert 
 
110 
 
 the order of nature, and over and again to prove that and how 
 God could have a Son. And in the conclusion of his book, after 
 endeavoring to sully the faithful servants of Christ plentifully with 
 his venom, and elevating and praising the apostates (provided 
 they had hecome members of the lodge), he declares (p. 134) : 
 " Hell is only for those who invented it." Well, this Mr. Clemen 
 himself acknowledges that the Freemasonry of to-day is no older 
 (p. 76). To be sure he takes pains to prove an affinity of principle 
 and spirit with the earlier Masonic guilds, in which he of course 
 does not succeed, and never will, because those Masonic guilds 
 stood upon the foundation of God's Word and the Christian 
 Church ; the present Freemasons, however, on the foundation of 
 a mongrel religion of reason. 
 
 This order of Free Masons, like all other weeds, is fruitful, 
 and is the mother of many other secret societies. Our Odd Fel- 
 low order undoubtedly springs from it, as its doctrines prove, 
 which essentially coincide with those of the order of Free 
 'Masons, just as its constitution is essentially the same. An 
 "ex-master" of the Odd Fellows, L. Meyer, tells the same thing 
 in the "Odd Fellow" of November, 1870, page 690. Among 
 other things, he says: "In the Masonic alliance we find . . . the 
 beginning of our order." And further: " The foundation of our 
 order is to be looked for in the last ten years of the last century." 
 But not even the slightest proof, which will bear the test, has 
 hitherto been given, that this order was founded before 1800. 
 We find the first historical proof of its existence in England in 
 the year 1809. At this time we find the members of the order 
 frequently assembled in houses of doubtful reputation, making 
 merry over the mug of beer and other worldly amusements. 
 In the year 1813 several lodges separated from them and 
 formed a union of their own, under the name of "Independent 
 Order of Odd Fellows." As this branch of the Odd Fellows more 
 or less did away with the beer drinking at their lodge meetings, 
 
120 
 
 and, what certainly was the main point, assisted its members more 
 liberally in case of sickness, it spread very quickly, which is not 
 to be wondered at when we remember that it was a time barren 
 and gloomy as regards Christian faith and activity. From this 
 branch of the order afterwards originate 1 other independent asso- 
 ciations, among others the "Manchester Unity," from which the 
 lodge members in this country count their origin. 
 
 Thomas Wildey, a blacksmith, immigrated in tne year 1817 
 from England, and founded the order here in 1819, which remained 
 in connection with the order in England until the year 1843. It 
 then deemed itself strong enough to be self-reliant, and therefore 
 separated from the order in England, notwithstanding the latter 
 had treated the Odd Fellows in this country very liberally, had 
 given them charters and their own jurisdiction. They did not 
 like, however, to be subject any longer to any other authority, 
 which could throw hindrances in the way of their rule and ambi- 
 tion ; and so the Grand Lodge of the United States declared itself 
 "the only Fountain and Depository of Independent Oddfellow-' 
 ship on the globe" (Manual, p. 55). In this manner the alliance 
 was cut off, and brotherly love came to an end. Indeed the 
 usurped authority went so far in proscribing all the much vaunted 
 love for the mother lodge in England, that to this day it forbids 
 its members to unite with a lodge of the "Manchester Unity," 
 under pain of expulsion.* And since the Grand Lodge of the 
 United States has proclaimed itself to be " the only fountain of 
 Independent Odd Fellowship on the globe, " it recognizes no other 
 order of Odd Fellows, and therefore neither card nor any other- 
 document from the Manchester Unity is considered valid by it. 
 If the Manchester Unity wishes to be acknowledged, it must bow 
 before its own revolutionary child, and beg from the same permis- 
 sion for its existence, in the form of a charter. 
 
 * See Digest, p 236 ff. 
 
121 
 
 Is it still asked, why these and other secret societies were 
 founded at all, we reply, with the "Odd Fellow," without satis- 
 factorily answering the question, that : " The doubter in the circle 
 of the brethren . . . can express himself more freely" ("0. F.," 
 Nov., 1870, p. 090), and that "free religious views might 
 develop themselves" ("0. F.," July, 1871, p. 56). The religious 
 views, or, better, the Christian doctrines of the sacred Scriptures, 
 Tere nr>t free enough for these people ; the doctrine of repentance 
 and faith did not please them ; to he saved hy grace, they did not 
 Iifee; and on that account, as the Odd Fellows themselves say, 
 secret societies were established. 
 
 II.GOVERNMENT. 
 
 1. EXTERNAL DIVISION. 
 
 The order consists of two departments, namely, Lodges an*? 
 Encampments. 
 
 (A) LODGES. 
 
 (a). Subordinate Lodges. Subordinate Lodges are those 
 which stand under the jurisdiction of a State Grand Lodge, or, in 
 case none such exists in the respective States, under the immediate 
 jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge of the United States. When 
 *ive lodge members are found in a place where there is no lodge 
 or where, according to their opinion, there are too few lodges, 
 fhey can apply to the Grand Lodge of the State, or, in case none 
 such exists, to the Grand Lodge of the United States, for a char- 
 ter, and if this is granted, they can found a new lodge. The 
 petitioners dare, however, never neglect to enclose the charter, 
 
122 
 
 fee, which is usually thirty dollars. That is the main point ; for, 
 without respectable payment, the Grand Lodge concerned will 
 move neither hand nor foot, neither pencil nor pen, and still less 
 will it without money grant permission to a number of persons to 
 assent to its false doctrines and to assume the obligation to be 
 obedient to it. The form of such a petition, as determined by 
 law, is the following (see Digest, p. 419; Pocket Comp., p. 274) : 
 
 " To the Grand Sire, Officers and Members of the Grand Lodge 
 of the United States: The petition of the undersigned, holding 
 withdrawal cards from lodges legally recognized by your R. W. 
 body, respectfully represents that it would be consistent with the 
 advantages of the order, to establish a Subordinate Lodge, to be 
 located at - , in the State of . Wherefore your peti- 
 tioners pray that a Warrant may duly issue, in pursuance of the 
 laws of your R. W. body." 
 
 As soon as the petition, with the handsome sum of money, has 
 arrived, for which not one drop of sweat has been shed, the " R. 
 W. Grand Lodge" generally condescends most graciously to grant 
 the request. The form in which it is given is the following (see 
 Digest, p. 421 ff.; Pocket Comp., p. 275 ff.) : 
 
 " I, Most Worthy Grand Sire of the Grand Lodge of the Inde- 
 pendent Order of Odd Fellows of the United States of America 
 and the jurisdiction of the Order thereunto belonging : 
 "Friendship, Love and Truth. 
 
 "Know ye, that, by virtue of the powers in me vested, I do 
 hereby authorize and empower our trusty and well-beloved breth- 
 ren, , and their successors, duly and legally elected, to 
 
 constitute a lodge in the of and State of , to be 
 
 known and hailed by the title of . And I do further autho 
 
 ize and empower our said trusty and well-beloved brethren and 
 their successors to admit and make Odd Fellows according to the 
 ancient usages and customs of the Order, and not contrary wise ; 
 with full power and authority to hear and determine all and sin- 
 
128 
 
 gular matters and things relating to the Order within the juris- 
 diction of the said lodge, according to the rules and regulations 
 of the Grand Lodge of the United States. Provided, always, 
 that the said above-named brethren and their successors pay due 
 respect to the Grand Lodge of the United States and the ordi- 
 nances thereof; otherwise this Dispensation to be of no force or 
 effect 
 
 * Given under my hand and the seal of the Grand Lodge of the 
 United States, at the city of Baltimore, " &c. 
 
 After the reception of such a " charter/' the new lodge is 
 " instituted" or "opened" with all manner of pomp and pagean- 
 try, by the respective Grand Lodges, and their elected officers, 
 namely, Noble Grand, Vice Grand, one or two Secretaries and a 
 Treasurer, are installed. Thib installation may be performed by 
 the "Most Worthy Grand Master '' in his own proper person, or 
 by a Deputy. Of course the new lodge must pay all the traveling 
 expenses, and so forth. In order to give an insight into the fool- 
 eries, buffooneries and lying honorary titles, and at the same time 
 to become acquainted with the ungodly straight-jacket into which 
 the Grand Lodge puts every subordinate lodge and every member 
 of the order, without previously affording them opportunity for 
 examination and reflection, we give such a disgusting ceremonial 
 of the "installation of the officers of the subordinate lodges," 
 from the Digest, page 434 ff., and Pocket Comp., page 252 ff. 
 But it must not be forgotten, that this is the form used at public 
 installations. What takes place at secret installations, behind 
 closed doors, is not made known to any "profane" person. Nev- 
 ertheless, this formula suffices perfectly. It runs as follows : 
 
 "All the ordinary ceremonies of the lodge being suspended, 
 the inner door being opened wide, and the officers in their respec- 
 tive stations, the Grand Marshal, having a white baton, trimmed 
 with scarlet, approaches, and the following conversation ensues : 
 
 " Grand Marshal. Worthy Guardian, inform the Noble Grand 
 
124 
 
 diat the Grand Marshal of the R. W. Grand Lodge of demands 
 
 admission. 
 
 "Inside Guardian. Noble Grand, the W. Grand Marshal of 
 the is without, and demands admission. 
 
 11 Noble Grand. You will admit him. 
 
 44 Inside Guardian. You have liberty to enter. 
 
 "The Grand Marshal passes to the center of the lodge, facing 
 the Noble Grand, whom he salutes with the baton. 
 
 " Grand Marshal. Worthy Noble Grand, I am instructed, by 
 
 the M. W. Grand Master of the K. W. Grand Lodge of the , 
 
 to ascertain whether the charter (or dispensation) of this lodge is 
 in the hall ; whether the dues of this Lodge have been paid, 
 and, if not, to request that they shall be placed in my iiands ; * 
 to ask if the officers have been elected for the ensuing term ; it 
 they are free from all charges, pecuniary or otherwise, upon your 
 lodge-books ; and whether you are now ready to proceed with the 
 ceremony of installation ? 
 
 " Noble Grand. Worthy Grand Marshal, the charter of this 
 Lodge is in the lodge-room, and in my keeping. The Treasurer 
 will pay over to you the dues of the Lodge, or show you the 
 Grand Secretary's receipt for the same. The officers for the ensu- 
 ing term have been elected ; they each and all stand free from 
 all charges upon our lodge-books. You will please inform the 
 M. W. Grand Master that we are prepared for installation, and 
 await his pleasure. 
 
 1 i After receiving the dues, the Grand Marshal again salutes 
 the Noble Grand and retires. The procession being formed, the 
 grand officers approach the door. 
 
 " Grand Marshal. The Grand Lodge of the Independent* 
 Order of Odd Fellows of 
 
 "Inside Guardian. Noble Grand, the Grand Lodge. 
 
 ' The Grand Marshal knew all this beforehand. 
 
125 
 
 " Noble Grand. In the name of Friendship, Love and Truth, 
 admit them. 
 
 "They enter and pass to the center of the hall. The lodge 
 rises. The Grand Master steps in front. 
 
 " Grand Master. Noble Grand, by authority of the R. W. 
 
 Grand Lodge of , we appear here this evening for the purpose 
 
 of installing into their respective chairs the officers of this lodge. 
 You will please direct your officers to surrender their respective 
 chairs to the grand officers in attendance, and you will now please 
 take your seat as Sitting Past Grand of this lodge for the current 
 term. 
 
 " Noble Grand. Officers of Lodge, you will surrender 
 
 your chairs to the officers of the R. W. Grand Lodge of 
 
 " The Grand Master will take the Noble Grand's chair, the 
 Grand Warden will take the Vice Grand's, the Grand Secretary 
 will take the Secretary's, and the Grand Treasurer will take the 
 Treasurer's chair. 
 
 " Grand Master. My brethren, you will please be seated. 
 Worthy Grand Marshal, you will retire with the officers elect ;or 
 examination. It is unnecessary for nie to remind you that that 
 duty should be faithfully performed. 
 
 " After the examination of the candidates, the Grand Marsha 
 will announce, through the Grand Guardian : 
 
 "The Grand Marshal, with the officers elect for installation. 
 
 " The Grand Marshal and officers elect will enter in procession, 
 the lodge remaining seated. Each of the officers may be supported 
 by two who have passed the same office, and will form a line on 
 the left of the Noble Grand's chair. During the march into the 
 lodge, the following may be sung : 
 
 " INSTALLATION ODE. 
 
 * 4 Come, let us swell the joyful note, 
 
 And hail the chosen band, 
 Who, in compliance with our vote, 
 To-night before us siand. 
 
126 
 
 Our Noble and Vice Grand will now 
 
 To seats of honor move, . . . 
 
 And bear the ensign on their brow 
 Of Friendship, Truth and Love. 
 
 ' Hail ! all our officers elect, 
 
 Of high and low degree, 
 flail ! each with due and kind respect 
 
 Whate'er his station be. 
 We place reliance in their zeal, 
 
 That they will worthy prove, 
 And stamp their actions with the seal 
 
 Of Friendship, Truth and Love. 
 
 " Grand Marshal. M. W. Grand Master, I present to you 
 Cor installation our worthy brother (A. B.), whom the brethren of 
 this lodge have elected Noble Grand for the present term. 
 
 " Grand Master. (To the Noble Grand elect.) Brother, do 
 you accept of the office to which you have Veen elected ? 
 
 Noble Grand elect. I do. 
 
 " Grand Master. (To the lodge.) Brethren, are you content 
 with the choice you have made of Noble Grand ? 
 
 " Answer (usually in the affirmative). 
 
 '- Should any objection be expressed, the Grand Master, if the 
 installation be in public, will recall the officers to their respective 
 chairs, and, with the grand officers, will retire. If the installa- 
 tion be in private, it will be the duty of the Grand Master to 
 examine its nature ; and if it should appear that the election has 
 been effected by irregular or illegal means, the Grand Master shall 
 order a new election to take place at that time, which he shall 
 conduct, and the person then elected, if qualified, shall be installed. 
 These directions apply to all the officers. 
 
 ' Grand Master. M. W. Grand Marshal, have you examined 
 the Noble Grand elect, to ascertain whether he is sufficiently 
 acquainted with the various lectures and instructions to enable 
 him to deliver them according to his office? Have you asoer- 
 
127 
 
 tained whether he has rendered sufficient previous service in office, 
 and is free from all charges on the books of this lodge, of whatso- 
 ever kind ? 
 
 " Grand Marshal. I have, M. W. Grand Master, and find 
 the brother competent and eligible to fill the honorable station to 
 which he has been elected by the brothers of this lodge. , 
 
 " Grand Master. Noble Grand elect, will you promise to sub- 
 mit to your charges; to be obedient to the mandates of the Grand 
 
 Lodge of the ; to support the regulations of our order ; to 
 
 act with justice toward all brothers, as is the duty of a Noble 
 Grand? 
 
 " Noble Grand elect. I will. 
 
 " Grand Master. Your apparent willingness to conform to the 
 charges and regulations of our order, the proficiency you have 
 made therein, your moral standing, your freedom from indebted- 
 ness to the lodge, and the voice of a majority thereof, entitle you 
 to be now installed into the office of Noble Grand of this lodge. 
 You will, therefore, place your right hand upon your left breast, 
 and repeat after me : 
 
 "Noble Grands 0. B. N. (Signifies Oath. The Author.*)- 
 In the presence of the members of the order here assembled, I, 
 
 , do promise, declare, and say, that I will perform the duties 
 
 of Noble Grand of this lodge until the end of the present term ; 
 and will support, maintain and abide by the Constitution, By-Laws, 
 Rules and Regulations of the Grand Lodge of the Independent 
 
 Order of Odd Fellows of the , as well as the Constitution and 
 
 By-Laws of this Lodge. I furthermore promise, that I will not 
 give the means "whereby to gain admission, to any person except a 
 member of this Lodge, in good standing. I will, to the utmost 
 of my power, enforce the laws, and preserve order and decorum 
 in the Lodge. I will judge of every transaction that comes 
 
 * Compare Digest, p. 528. Index Article; Oath. 
 
128 
 
 before me without prejudice or partiality ; see that the obliga- 
 tions to candidates for membership are legally administered; and, 
 should the Grand Lodge direct, I will deliver the Warrant or Dis- 
 pensation of this Lodge to the Grand Master. All this I promise 
 to fulfill, unless prevented by sickness, or some other unavoidable 
 occurrence. To the performance of all which I pledge my most 
 sacred honor. 
 
 " Grand Master. W. Grand Marshal, yon will proceed to 
 nvest the Noble Grand in the regalia of his office. 
 
 " Grand Marshal. By command of the M. W. Grand Master, 
 I invest you with this collar, jewel, and other regalia, which are 
 emblems of your office. 
 
 " Grand Master. Noble Grand, you will receive from us the 
 Constitution and By-Laws of your Lodge ; you are to take them 
 for your guide, and cause them to be frequently read in your Lodge. 
 You will please be seated at our right hand. 
 
 Grand Marshal. M. W. Grand Master, I present to you, 
 for installation, our worthy brother (C. D ), whom the brethren of 
 this Lodge have elected Vice Grand for the present term. 
 
 " Grand Master. Brother, do you accept the office to which 
 you have been elected ? 
 
 " Vice Grand elect. I do. 
 
 " Grand Master. Brethren of the Lodge, are you content in 
 the choice you have made of Vice Grand ? 
 
 " Answer. (As in case of Noble Grand.) 
 
 " Grand Master. W. Grand Marshal, have you examined the 
 Vice Grand elect, to ascertain whether he is sufficiently acquainted 
 with the various lectures and instructions to enable him to assist 
 in delivering them according to his office ? Have you ascertained 
 whether he has rendered sufficient previous service in office, and 
 is free from all charges on the books of this Lodge, of whatsoever 
 kind? 
 
 " Grand Marshal. I have, M. W. Grand Master, and find the 
 
129 
 
 brother competent and eligible to fill the honorable station to which 
 he has been elected by the brothers of this Lodge. 
 
 " Grand Master. Vice Grand elect, will you promise to yield 
 a like obedience to your charges and the mandates of the R. W. 
 Grand Lodge, as the Noble Grand ; to assist him in the execution 
 of his office ; to use your efforts in promoting the harmony and 
 welfare of the Lodge, and to increase love among your brethren ? 
 
 11 Vice Grand elect. I will. 
 
 " Grand Master. In consequence of your avowed willingness 
 to enter upon and perform the duties of Vice Grand of this Lodge, 
 you will now proceed with our W. Grand Marshal to the chair of 
 your office, where you will be installed. W. Grand Marshal, you 
 will present the Vice Grand elect to our R. W. Grand Warden for 
 obligation. 
 
 " Grand Marshal. R. W. Grand Warden, by command of our 
 M. W. Grand Master, I present you brother (C. D.), the Vice 
 Grand elect, for obligation. 
 
 11 Grand Warden. Vice Grand elect, you will please place 
 your right hand upon your left breast, and repeat after me : 
 
 " Vice Grands 0. B. N. (Oath. The Author.) In the pres- 
 ence of the members of the order now assembled," and so forth. 
 
 ( Essentially the same oath as that of the Noble Grand. 
 Author. ) 
 
 " Grand Master. W. Grand Marshal, you will proceed to 
 invest the Vice Grand with the regalia of his office. 
 
 " Grand Marshal. By command of the M. W. Grand Master, 
 T inrest you with the badges of your office. In receiving them, 
 you will not cease to remember that the preference of the Lodge 
 has placed them upon you, in the full confidence that, while you 
 wear them, their purity shall not be blemished. 
 
 " Grand Warden. Vice Grand, I present to you a copy of the 
 Constitution and By-Laws of your Lodge, which you will make 
 your tudy, in order that you may assist the Noble Grand in tht 
 
180 
 
 performance of his duties; and this gavil, which indicates that 
 you are to assist him in the exercise of his authority. You will 
 now take your seat as Vice Grand of this Lodge for the present 
 term." 
 
 In like manner are then the Recording Secretary, the Per- 
 manent Secretary, and the Treasurer, " presented," sworn in, 
 and invested with the appointed regalia (better speaking; mum- 
 meries) for the respective offices. After, then, by " command" of 
 the "M. W. Grand Master," the " Noble Grand " has appointed 
 his other officers ^the whole number of officers in a lodge is but 
 seventeen), the " M. W. Grand Master turns again to the "Noble 
 Grand ' ? with the following words : 
 
 " Noble Grand, previous to delivering into your keeping the 
 charter and books pertaining to your office, it is necessary that 
 you should enter with us into another obligation. Place yourself 
 in the attitude in which you were last obligated, and repeat : 
 
 "I, Noble Grand, do, in the presence of these brethren, most 
 sincerely promise and declare, that I will neither print nor write, 
 nor cause to be printed or written, any part or parts of the secret 
 work of Oddfellowship ; nor will I, in the presence of any person, 
 either read or rehearse, or cause to be understood by any means, 
 any part or parts of it, except in the presence of brothers duly 
 qualified to receive the same in legal form. Nor will I, at any 
 time, permit these books to be taken from my keeping, by any 
 person or persons, excepting those subordinate officers whose vari- 
 ous charges shall have obligated them to return to me such printed 
 or written part or parts as were delivered to them, without having 
 made, themselves, or permitted any others to make, any extracts, 
 or take any copies therefrom ; and I will use every effort to effect 
 the return of those books, or printed or written parts of them, as 
 soon as the purpose for which they were obtained from me has 
 been accomplished. And I do furthermore promise and declare, 
 that I will deliver these books to no person or persons, excepting 
 
131 
 
 the M. W. Grand Master, or his Deputy, or to a committee from 
 the Grand Lodge, and the Noble Grand who shall have been elected 
 to succeed me. To the performance of all which I pledge my most 
 sacred honor. " 
 
 It is therefore not enough that the Noble Grand swears once, 
 he must swear twice before taking possession of his "office." 
 That done, the " M. W. Grand Master" confidently delivers the 
 books and writings into his hands, those which even the "profane " 
 may read, as well as those which dare not be polluted by the hands 
 of the unclean. 
 
 After this terribly tedious ceremony follows a long string of 
 charges, addressed to each officer separately, the main substance 
 of which is always a charge to obedience, which is just as tedious, 
 and which we also rather omit. After this lengthy, repulsive 
 ceremony, during which some cannot refrain from laughter, and 
 others from sleep, follows the solemn conclusion, when the Grand 
 Marshal takes the floor, and with a certain omnipotence and with 
 raised voice, says : 
 
 "And now, by command of the M. W. Grand Master, and in 
 the name and by the authority of the Right Worthy Grand Lodge 
 
 of , of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, I do declare 
 
 the officers of Lodge, No. , installed into their respective 
 
 offices for the current term, in form." 
 
 The brethren answer : " So be it." 
 
 Having, then, for this time, sufficiently worthied each other, 
 and having all (at least the officers) descended beneath the name 
 of a Christian and the dignity of men ; having reverenced a 
 Grand Man, " mostly and very highly"; having debased them- 
 selves as his slaves, his obedient servants and sycophants, it will 
 be difficult for them ever again to attain to the dignity of men, 
 and still more so to attain to the dignity of Christians. 
 
 That the audience now heartily rejoices at last to have this 
 tedious comedy ended, and disperses in a very good humor, is 
 
132 
 
 readily to be understood, the more so, as in most cases the accu- 
 mulated "thirst" claims its due. However, the lodge is formed 
 and established, and every one who desires to be a servant of men 
 can, by paying the feo for proposal, usually three dollars, be pro- 
 posed for admission.* 
 
 In every subordinate lodge, the Noble Grand exercises the gov- 
 ernment. Every one who does not obey his word, is immediately 
 punishod, and has either to pay dowji a fine or must allow himself 
 to enjoy the honor of being suspended or put out of doors. 
 
 No one is allowed to speak in the lodge, or to vote, who does 
 not appear in his proper regalia. At the election of officers, no 
 one can vote who owes the lodge anything, should it only be five 
 cents. If any one is in arrears with his dues for three months, 
 he can only attend the weekly meetings of the lodge by special 
 permission of the " Noble Grand " ; if he does not soon pay, he 
 will be suspended or stricken from the roll. 
 
 (6). The State Grand Lodges,^ These assemble annually 
 or semi-annually, and are composed of all the Past Grands. As, 
 however, the lodge members of the first degrees are still groping 
 too much in the dark, and the light of the lodge has not been suf- 
 ficiently shed upon them ; therefore the representatives can under 
 no condition be others than Past Grands. These together form the 
 Grand Lodge of the State. The elected officers of a Grand Lodge 
 are : " M. W. Grand Master, R. W. Deputy Grand Master, R. W. 
 Grand Warden, R. W. Grand Secretary, R. W. Grand Treasurer, 
 who are elected annually ; and R. W. Grand Representative, or 
 Representatives, elected biennially." To these are added a host 
 
 * Some of the chief conditions for reception are. that the candidate be 
 a free, white man, of good moral character, and not under twenty-one years 
 of age ; that he believe in a u Supreme Being, the Creator and Preserver 
 of the Universe " ; that he be healthy, can support himself, &c. 
 
 f According to the report of 1873, more than forty State Grand Lodges 
 belong to the Grand Lodge of the United States. 
 
133 
 
 of other " worthy " officers who are appointed by the M. W. 
 Grand Master, among which the " W. Grand Chaplain" and ihe 
 "Inside and Outside Guardians," "with drawn sword," must not 
 be wanting 
 
 If in a State or Territory there is no Grand Lodge in exist- 
 ence, three or more lodges are permitted,* if they have seven 
 Past Grands, to petition the Grand Lodge cf the "[Tinted States 
 for permission to establish a State Grand Lodge ; that is, if they 
 are right humble, and promise perfect obedience, in every respect, 
 to the Grand Lodge of the United States (G. L. TJ. S.), and do not 
 forget to enclose the necessary fee, thirty dollars ; for only under 
 these conditions will the G. L U. S. take their petition in,o con- 
 sideration. For brevity's sake, we omit the form of this petition, 
 as well as the form of the charter. They are essentially the same 
 as with the subordinate lodge. The main point of such a charter, 
 which the Right Worthy or Most Worthy Grand Sire graciously 
 vouchsafes to grant, is always the demand for strict obedience and 
 that of "due respect to the Grand Lodge of the United States 
 and the ordinances thereof" (Pocket Gump., p. 200; Digest, 
 p. 422). After such a charter has been granted (which usually 
 is given), the Grand Lodge is most solemnly "organized" or 
 " established" by the "Most Worthy Grand Sire" or his deputy 
 with much pomp and parade. Such a State Grand Lodge has the 
 jurisdiction over all the lodges of the respective State. No lodge 
 of the " Independent order of Odd Fellows " (I. 0. 0. F.) can be 
 established in the State without its permission, and without having 
 paid for it And, should it occur to any lodge not to render prompt 
 obedience, or to wish to obey God rather than man, it would forth- 
 with be suspended, and the Grand Lodge would confiscate all the 
 property, which the members have often acquired with their hard- 
 earned money. f And, as the subordinate lodges (S. L.) are bound 
 
 * The Manual says ten lodges are requisite (p. 419). 
 f See, for example, Manual, p. 439 ff. 
 
134 
 
 to the strictest obedience to the State Grand Lodge (S. G. L.) ; 
 so are these obligated to pay the strictest obedience to the Grand 
 Lodge of the United States. 
 
 (c). The Grand Lodge of the United States (G. L. U. .).* 
 "The highest authority and judicatory of the order. It 'pos- 
 sesses original and exclusive jurisdiction,' and is the source of all 
 true and legitimate authority in Oddfellowship in the United States 
 of America. " It is the ultimate tribunal to which all matters of 
 general importance to the State, District and Territorial Grand 
 Lodges and Encampments are to be referred, and "its decisions 
 thereon shall be final and conclusive." " To it belongs the power 
 to control and regulate the work of the order, and the several 
 degrees belonging thereto, and to fix and determine the cu?tomg 
 and usages in regard to all things which pertain to Oddfellowship. 
 It has inherent power to establish lodges or encampments in for- 
 eign countries where no Grand Lodge or Grand Encampment 
 exists." "It supplies the A. T. P. W. (the yearly traveling 
 pass-word) to all grand bodies in its jurisdiction" (Manual, p. 
 441 ff.; Digest, p. 159). It consists of the representatives of all 
 the State Grand Lodges and its own officers. The officers are : 
 "The Most Worthy Grand Sire, Right W. Deputy Grand Sire, 
 R. W. Grand Corresponding and Recording Secretary, and R. W. 
 Grand Treasurer," who are chosen biennially. To these are added 
 a number of "right worthy" officers appointed by the "Most 
 Worthy Grand Sire," among which a "Grand Chaplain" and a 
 " Grand Guardian " dare not be wanting. The representatives 
 are elected by the State Grand Lodges and Grand Encampments, 
 not by the members of the subordinate lodges. For every 1000 
 members which a State Grand Lodge has in its subordinate lodged, 
 the G. L. U. S. allows one vote or representative ; but hot witb- 
 
 * It "was incorporated as such in the year 1841, by the Legislature of 
 Maryland. Pocket Comp., p. 210. 
 
i35 
 
 Ottfc payment and gratis. Fo** every representative the State 
 Grand Ledge has to pay annually seventy-five dollars in cash, 
 without reckoning the other contributions. A State Lodge can- 
 not send more than two representatives. In order to be qualified 
 to become a so-called Grand Representative, much is required ; he 
 must not only have been a Noble Grand, have received all the 
 lodge and encampment degrees, but must also have been Grand 
 Master of a State Grand Lodge * ; all others are not yet suffi- 
 ciently enlightened by the great light of the lodge to fill such an 
 office. 
 
 This Grand Lodge of the United States assembles annually, 
 and governs with sovereign power, not only in the United States, 
 but also in Canada, Australia, South America, Germany, the 
 Sandwich Islands, West Indies, and who knows where all else. 
 To be sure, up to present date it only governs the lodges and 
 encampments in those countries ; but certainly we will not miss 
 the mark by assuming that they, like the Jesuits, are hoping 
 for better times. Should some State Grand Lodge presume not 
 to obey it at a word, it would immediately be suspended and its 
 property confiscated by the G. L. U. S. (Digest, p. 159). 
 
 The Apostle Paul admonishes us : "Be not ye the servants of 
 men." Every Odd Fellow delivers himself to a triple bondage to 
 men, without reckoning his bondage to the Prince of Darkness < 
 in the first place, he is the slave of his Noble Grand ; secondly, 
 slave of his Grand Lodge ; and thirdly, slave of the G. L. U. S. 
 And this bondage is so great that, for instance, even his freedom 
 of speech is taken from him, and he suffers himself quietly to be 
 
 * See Man., p. 443, In Digest, p. 193, 474, it is not demanded from a 
 Grand Representative that he must have been Grand Master of a State 
 Grand Lodge. This contradiction is perhaps explained by the fact that the 
 law book holds more to theory, the Manual, however, more to the practice. 
 It is a general custom to elect none but Past Grand Masters of the State 
 Grand Lodges as Grand Representatives. 
 
136 
 
 robbed of it. In the "standing resolutions of the Grand Lodge 
 of Wisconsin" it is said, for example (5) : "The officers and 
 members of the subordinate lodges, which work under the juris- 
 diction of this Grand Lodge, are and shall be hereby admonished, 
 not to engage in any controversy through the public press, nor to 
 publish an}^ thing in connection with the order in the form of 
 reports or speeches, without special permission from this Grand 
 Loc'ge." And every member of the lodge willingly submits to 
 this. They are enchained, by all manner of trickery, in iron 
 chains and bonds, and submit to it all. And indeed it requires 
 much before lodge members gain courage enough to let all their 
 money arid other lodge property go, in order to free themselves 
 from these bonds and this servitude. It does not occur very fre- 
 quently that members withdraw, but it is one of the greatest rari- 
 ties that one leaves them on account of their blasphemous and 
 pernicious doctrines. 
 
 (B) THE ENCAMPMENT. 
 
 The Encampment Branch, or the " Patriarchal Branch," is 
 usually held in higher estimation than the lodge, and that of 
 right, because the light of the lodge shines in this considerably 
 brighter. "Sublime degrees," "higher instructions" are imparted 
 therein. " The lodge is of the civic type; the Encampment is of 
 the military, but patriarchal, and therefore pastoral" (Manual, 
 p. 354 ff.). "Though teaching peaceful lessons, the Encampment 
 assumes military forms" . (p, 360). 
 
 (a) Subordinate Encampment. If a member of the lodge 
 has received the five degrees, and is in "good standing," that is, 
 if he has paid all dues of the lodge and there is no charge against 
 him, he can become a member of an Encampment, but not without 
 paying at least twelve to twenty dollars entrance fee. He must, 
 however, continue to be a member of the lodge, in "good stand- 
 
137 
 
 ing," so long as he wishes to remain a member of the Encamp- 
 ment. As such, he must of course pay double, namely, to the 
 Lodge and to the Encampment. 
 
 The Encampment has its own constitution. The members meet 
 usually every two weeks, and owe obedience to the State G-rand 
 Encampment. In case of disobedience, the Subordinate Encamp- 
 ment is suspended or excommunicated, and all the property, books, 
 funds, &c., are confiscated by the Grand Encampment of the 
 State ; * indeed it can do so without previously instituting an 
 investigation. 
 
 In a place where no Encampment exists, seven patriarchs (mem- 
 bers of an Encampment), who have received the three "sublime 
 degrees'* of the Encampment, by sending the necessary fee, can 
 apply for a charter from the Grrand Encampment of the State, or, 
 if none such exists, to the G-rand Lodge of the United States ; and, 
 if granted, a new Encampment is organized, with all the prescribed 
 ceremonies. t The officers of an Encampment, to be elected, are: 
 a Chiof Patriarch, a High Priest, a Senior Warden, a Scribe, a 
 Treasurer, a Junior Warden : to these are added a host of 
 appointed officers, as " Watches," "Sentinels," &c. 
 
 (6). Grand Encampment. When no Grand Encampment is 
 in existence in a State, five Subordinate Encampments, if they 
 have seven Past Chief Patriarchs and send the Grrand Lodge of 
 the United States thirty dollars, can petition the same for a 
 charter, and when this is granted, can establish a new Grand 
 Encampment, with all manner of pomp (See Digest, p. 148 ff. ). 
 T!o same consists of all the past " Chief Patriarchs," and in 
 
 * See Digest, p. 154; Constitution of Grand Encampment of Wisconsin, 
 Art. I, By-Laws, Art. II. 
 
 t We pass over the buffooneries of the establishment of a new Encamp, 
 merit and the installation of the officers. With insignificant changes, they 
 are the same disgusting ceremonies, as with the lodge and its officers. 
 
138 
 
 some States also of the past " High Priests." It has the juris- 
 diction over all the Encampments of the respective State; also 
 permission, for every thousand members of its Subordinate 'En- 
 campments, to send one representative to the Grand Lodge of the 
 United States, provided it has nob neglected to send, besides the 
 other dues, seventy -five dollars for each representative. 
 
 The officers of a Grand Encampment, to be elected, are : " Most 
 Worthy Grand Patriarch,'' " M. E. Grand High Priest, R. W. 
 Grand Senior Warden, R. W. Grand Junior Warden, R-. W. 
 Grand Scribe," &c., in addition to which a number of " R. W. 
 Grand Officers" are appointed, among which the " Watches " are 
 never missing. The Grand Encampments* meet annually or semi- 
 annually (in case no extra sessioa is called together by the " M. W. 
 Patriarch"), usually at the same time and place with the State 
 Grand Lodge. 
 
 There is no separate Grand Encampment of the United States ; 
 it is combined with the Grand Lodge of the United State:, which 
 includes all the lodges and encampments. For this reason/all the 
 representatives to the same must have taken all the degrees of the 
 encampments. The State Grand Encampments are all responsible 
 to the Grand Lodge of the United States, and should any Grand 
 Encampment desire to set up its own authority, arid not obediently 
 to bend its neck under the iron yoke of the G. L. U. S., it would 
 immediately be suspended or expelled, and all its property confis- 
 cated, (Digest, p. 159; Constitution of the G. Lodge D. S., 
 Art. 1, 3.) 
 
 * To avoid conflict between the State Grand Lodge and the State Grand 
 Encampment, the latter is subordinate to the State Grand Lodge. 
 
189 
 
 2. HOW THE LODGES AEE BOUND TOGETHER BY LAWS. 
 
 The Grand Lodge of the United States is the soul and main 
 spring of the entire order; all the power and might rests in its 
 hands. When it speaks; it is done ; when it commands, every 
 one must obey. It is provided by law, that, like as in the Order 
 of Jesuits, everything acts upon the other, as the wheels in a 
 machine; all parts are joined together, as links in a chain. 
 Without. its will, no one can, to use this expression, move hand 
 or foot. It has its own Constitution and By-Laws,* and accord- 
 ing to these every State Grand Lodge and Encampment must 
 accommodate itself. No lodge can pass a resolution or law, which 
 does not coincide in spirit with the same. The strictest and most 
 punctual obedience is required of the State Grand Lodges, and 
 these are admonished to hold all subordinate lodges to strict obe- 
 dience in every respect (By-Laws of the G. L. U., Art. XX). 
 No State Grand Lodge dare undertake to alter the " written " or 
 the "-unwritten" or " secret work," neither "sign" nor "grip/* 
 neither " pass word " nor anything else. This power is vested 
 only in the G. L. U. S. (See Constitution, Art. I). Every State 
 Grand Lodge must hand in annually a correct report, wherein, for 
 instance, the number of members, of those newly admitted, of the 
 suspended, of the excommunicated, the receipts and the expendi- 
 tures, &c.-, must be stated ; so that at any hour it is able to tell 
 rh strength of the entire order. In short, the Grand Lodge of 
 the United States has all the State Grand Lodges and Grand 
 Encampments, with the great train of subordinate lodges and 
 encampments, in tow, and leads them whither it pleases. It is 
 the head of the great monster, and the tail follows willingly after. 
 
 * Both are to be found in the book : " Digest of the R, W % Grand Lodge 
 of the United States I. 0. 0, F. 1871." To be had of G, Secretary James 
 L. Kidgely, Baltimore, Md, Price, $2.50; with postage, $3, 
 
140 
 
 Without questioning, the blinded troop follows through thick and 
 tliin, and in return has the pleasure to make weekly, monthly, 
 quarterly, semi-annual, annual and casual payments, of which 
 they and their families do not, on an average, receive the third 
 r;irt back. The ''Grand Sire" reigns* like a king, and, in his 
 way, has a great deal more power than the President of the United 
 States. According to the Constitution of the Grand Lodge of the 
 United States, the State Grand Lodges can draw up their own 
 constitution, which, of course, dare contain nothing which would 
 smell of anything like opposition ; neither has it validity until it 
 has been approved and sanctioned by the G. L. U. S. 
 
 Almost the same relation exists between the subordinate lodges 
 and the State Grand Lodges, as between the latter and the Grand 
 Lodge of the United States, with this difference, that the subor- 
 dinate lodges are still more gagged. These do not enjoy the right 
 to draft their own constitution ; the State Grand Lodge has drafted 
 one for them, which they have simply to accept and to obey. It 
 has only the right to make some by-laws suitable to its own cir- 
 cumstances, which must, of course, be in unison with the consti- 
 tution, and are in many cases examined by the State Grand Lodge 
 before they become valid. But every subordinate lodge has the 
 privilege and the sacred duty to pay truly and honestly. 
 
 The entire form of government of the order is thoroughly des- 
 potic ; indeed so much so, that the government of Russia seems 
 liberal in comparison with it. The members of the subordinate 
 lodges have, strictly taken, no real but only some apparent rights ; 
 yet, instead of them, a great many duties. They dare not send 
 the representatives whom they like to the State Grand Lodge, 
 but only such persons as the Grand Lodge has proposed to them, 
 and those are the members of the lodge who have been Noble 
 Grands. No member of a subordinate lodge can take part in the 
 election of representatives to the Grand Lodge of the United 
 States ; they are much too low to do this ; these are elected by tn 
 
141 
 
 State Grand Lodges and Encampments (Digest, p. 189). What 
 would our American people say if members of Congress to be 
 elected were in every case nominated by Congress in Washington, 
 and the people could elect none other than these? Or if Congress 
 should appoint a tribunal, which always elected the representatives 
 of the people? Would this deserve the name of an election of the 
 people ? Would the people submit to such a thing ? The Odd 
 Fellows put up with all this, indeed sustain it with their money 
 and by word. 
 
 Indeed, this order is a fearful power, a power of darkness. 
 Here in the United States it numbers 400,000 adherents, all 
 blindly obeying, and so soon as any one will not do so, he is 
 expelled. Considering its pernicious doctrines, its shameful im- 
 morality, which, for example, approves of, protects and furthers 
 perjury, it is inconceivable how a State can suffer such a commu- 
 nity to exist in its midst, which, besides, holds all its sessions with 
 closed doors. Least of all can it be understood how the Prussian 
 government could grant such a society admission into its borders, 
 and could revoke or elude the law of 1798, which forbids all secret 
 societies standing in connection with foreign countries.* This 
 may in a measure be explained by assuming that the respective 
 gentlemen did not grant the Prussian government a complete and 
 correct insight into their doctrine, form of government and morala, 
 but, as always, only communicated so much as they found to serve 
 their purposes. It is a melancholy fact, that Protestant govern- 
 ments for the last twenty years have more and more, directly or 
 indirectly, favored societies with pernicious tendencies, as, for 
 example, the order of Jesuits. We are the more astonished that 
 Prussia favors this order, as history teaches how the mother of 
 the Odd Fellows' order (order of Free Mason) repeatedly abused 
 its power to the detriment of the State, as, for example, in France, 
 
 * See " Odd Fellow, 7 ' July, 1871, p. 50 ff. 
 
142 
 
 Spain and Germany.* That the daughter of Freemasonry will 
 do the same as soon as circumstances are favorable and she finds 
 it in her interest to do so, we need not doubt. On a small scale, 
 the United States have already experienced this annually and 
 every four years at the elections. Of what other use are the 
 blinded members. They have vowed "to devote their lives to 
 the brotherhood," to lend their brethren, " in all circumstances 
 of life, . . . aid, counsel and protection," and the needy brother 
 must not consider this " as a form merely, but as a right ' ? (Pocket 
 Comp., p. 13). The maxim of their founder, Wildey, f is impressed 
 upon all the members of the order : " Save the country if possi- 
 ble, but at any rate save the order. "J 
 
 III. SECRETS. 
 
 The order claims that its secrets are necessary for its existence. 
 This is entirely correct; for, having assumed the obligation to aid 
 and assist every brother first and foremost, in "all the circum- 
 
 * it might be interesting and timeJy to examine in how far secret socie- 
 ties have intrigued during our great civil war, and we would most pressingly 
 recommend this subject to some one more able than we, for thorough exami- 
 nation. 
 
 f At all events, the toast giyen by Wildey, the founder of American 
 Oddfellowship, at a supper given in New York (1859) on occasion of the 
 fortieth anniversary of the existence of the order in America, which we 
 find in " Heart and Hand 7 ' of Jan. 6th, 1872, is very characteristic of him-, 
 it is as follows : u May the enemies of Oddfellowslup be rammed, damned 
 and jammed into a seventy-four-pounder and bio wed out of the touchhole." 
 Notwithstanding such a horrible toast, which would not even become a 
 New Zealand cannibal, the above paper asserts that Wildey during his 
 whole life was ever endowed with the greatest reverence and esteem for 
 religion. What kind of a religion might that be ? 
 
 J See Proceedings of the K. W. Grand Lodge of Wisconsin, 1858, p. 1228. 
 
143 
 
 stances in life in which a brother may be placed, " whether I am 
 personally acquainted with him or not, I must, of course, possess 
 a secret countersign whereby I can recognize him as an Odd Fel- 
 low. It is also necessary that I receive practical instruction in 
 the manner of rendering aid, and that I exercise myself in the 
 " grips," " signals of distress," &c., both in order to be continu- 
 ally ready to aid, as also to make myself known when I require 
 aid and assistance. And, that the brethren do not perhaps aid a 
 brother according to their own will and pleasure, but that he "in 
 all circumstances of life " shall receive real aid, it is necessary that 
 "solemn promises" and oaths should be taken in secret. 
 
 The secrets of the order can conveniently be divided into three 
 
 1. SIGNS OF RECOGNITION. 
 
 As signs of recognition, they use a number of pass-words ; for 
 example, the " evening word, 7 ' "the Vice Grand's pass-word," 
 "term pass-word." He alone who has the respective pass-word 
 and can give the necessary " explanation" to it, is admitted into 
 the lodge, and, that none other may enter, the outside "Sentinel 
 with the sword" must watch. Concerning this Sentinel the 
 Pocket Companion says (p. 165) : " He should be a man of nerve, 
 too, one who would not for a moment hesitate to eject forcibly, 
 if requisite, any person who might presume to deceive, or intrude 
 upon, the lodge. " 
 
 These " sacred " places are not for "listeners and thieves," 
 "profane" and " unclean. " 
 
 In order that brethren on a journey may not be incommoded, 
 they have also a "traveling pass-word," "annual pass- word," &c. 
 
 "Grips" and "signs" belong also to the signs of recognition; 
 all manner of signs with the hands and fingers, in order either to 
 make one's self known to the brethren, to implore help, or to warn 
 
144 
 
 a brother; all manner of grips when shaking hands. All these 
 signs of recognition are frequently changed, in order, if possible, 
 to prevent the " profane" from becoming acquainted with them; 
 should this once happen, it would cause a large expenditure of 
 money, as new pass-words must be given out, which the order 
 much prefers to deliver verbally by means of traveling officers.* 
 
 2. THE CONFERRING OF DEGREES. 
 
 This is done in secret, and great care is taken that outsiders 
 learn nothing about it. The lodges have five degrees, of which 
 the second and fourth are of American invention, and the encamp- 
 ments have three ; therefore eight in all. Besides these, there are 
 officers' degrees, which, however, are considered as of secondary 
 value. 
 
 Their books, containing the doctrines of the various degrees, 
 the duties of the members and officers, and the introduction into 
 the degrees and offices, are never sold to the "profane," so that 
 the precious secrets may not come to the knowledge of the world. 
 The books are called: "Charge Book, Degree Book, Instituting 
 and Installation Book, Diagram, Encampment Kitual," &c. We 
 cannot, therefore, make known the real secrets. However, the 
 doctrines being of the most importance, and Rev. A. B. Grrosh, 
 author of the Manual, assuring us that they communicate the 
 entire contents of their doctrines, yea, their every idea, to the 
 world ("Odd Fellow" of April, 1871, p. 244), and referring us 
 in the June number (p. 372), to his Manual, we will give these, 
 
 * The order has, however, a secret manner to communicate the respec- 
 tive pass-word by writing, when it seems impossible to do so by word of 
 mouth. It is then written in cyphers, and, that the recipient may be able 
 to decipher it, the " Key 77 is sent to him, which is a little book explaining 
 the use of the cyphers for this purpose. 
 
145 
 
 and examine whether they really have and contain something of 
 worth, or whether they are sinful, ungodly, anti-christian and 
 diabolical. 
 
 After a person has been initiated, has promised obedience, and 
 vowed to devote his life to the brotherhood, without knowing what 
 is expected of him (which no man can swear to as long as he has 
 a Christian conscience left), after he has been frightened with all 
 manner of hocus-pocus, and has seen the appropriate emblems of 
 initiation, viz., a Skull and an Ax, he can receive the first, or 
 White Degree." On this occasion he learns "the importance of 
 association for philanthropic purposes " (p. 153) ; that the laws of 
 the lodge " extend the love of self-good to the love of mankind " 
 (185); that when the members assist the "needy and suffering" 
 of "the lodge, " they themselves are made better. They therefore 
 teach that the word of God is not true ; for that teaches us that 
 first the tree must become good, then it can also bring forth good 
 fruit; the lodge, however, teaches, first do good works and thereby 
 be made better. To introduce him into active brotherly love, that 
 he never forsake a brother in distress, is the chief object of this 
 degree, and he is told that when he is found walking therein, he 
 is, like all " the charitable," an "imitator of God." But they 
 do not refrain, even in conferring the first degree, from hinting, 
 in some distant way, that he needs no Savior, by telling him that 
 the " charitable " live "with a conscience void of offence toward 
 God and man." If the poor man has now " evinced a willingness 
 to enter into any proper obligation " (of course before he knows 
 what it is), he will, sooner or later, in the second, or " Coienant 
 Degree," have an opportunity "of forming a still closer and more 
 precious covenant with" his "brethren." With this "the cove- 
 nanted friendship" is established, and the obligations of the same 
 consist, according to page 171 ff, in this, that we "consider eacti 
 other as friends, as brethren in soul, whom we would aid and sup- 
 port in affliction and persecution, whom we would rescue irom 
 
146 
 
 impending peril, . . . the evil designs of enemies." He is taught 
 1 'to guard the loved one from evil, to repel impending danger, 
 and secure safety," and "that every laudable effort should be put 
 forth to save a brother from the hand of an- enemy " (p. 179). 
 They endeavor, in this degree, to turn the eye of the " brother'' 
 away from the rest of mankind and to fix it alone upon the 
 "brethren," to stand by them in all relations of life, to assist and 
 to save them ; whether right or wrong, these are very secondary 
 considerations. To aid his brethren, that is the main point, and 
 he has promised to do this. To encourage him in the fulfillment 
 of this pledge, he is shown, among other things, the emblem of a 
 Bundle of Rods, which cannot easily be broken together, and the 
 Quiver and the Bow, with the admonition : "In peace prepare for 
 war" (p. 177). But, as this cannot be done while a man believes 
 in Christ and his word, whereby a Christian is put under obliga- 
 tion to serve all men, especially his brethren in the faith, also in 
 this degree Christ as Redeemer, as he who must renew us by his 
 spirit and give us strength to do good, must be set aside. There- 
 fore the brother is instructed, in this degree, that he is now in a 
 covenant, wherein "each brother can easily resist evil and accom- 
 plish good" (p. 177). 
 
 When the candidate has well understood the first two degrees, 
 has come up to his obligations, of course with contempt of all 
 Christianity, he can then receive the third, or " Royal Blue 
 Degree." On this occasion he hears the comforting instruction, 
 that they desire of him not only to aid and to serve his brethren, 
 but that he must also be ready to " sacrifice" himself for them, be 
 they known or unknown to him, if they are only " members of the 
 great family of Oddfellowship" (p. 181). As a true Odd Fellow, 
 he must exercise "genuine friendship," and "meet sacrifice with 
 iirm resolve." He is also " specially instructed, in this degree," 
 to "carefully and rigidly prove all who claim to be brethren.'' 
 Confirmed in such resolutions by showing him the emblem of 
 
147 
 
 power, Moses' Rod, and that of cunning, the Serpent, he may for 
 the present go on his way and prove his constancy. But they do 
 not fail to point out to him the way of self-righteousness, as the 
 brethren of this degree unanimously declare : " that if constant 
 in our reverence of God, and in keeping his commandments," we 
 "shall behold, amid all the storms and tempests of life, tokens of 
 Divine approbation, and receive the visits of the celestial messen- 
 ger, the Holy Spirit." They suppose, therefore, that they deserve 
 the approbation of God, notwithstanding they reject his word 
 entirely. True, they do deserve the approbation of their God, 
 but not that of the living and true God. 
 
 " A brother who has studied well and practiced faithfully the 
 principles of the preceding degrees, is prepared and worthy to 
 enter into the obligations of the " Degree of RemembroMce," 
 which is the fourth degree. This degree is intended to help 
 him over the boundaries of "confessions of faith," "communi- 
 ties" and "sects." He shall, as a genuine Odd Fellow, arrive at 
 the conviction that he is far exalted above every Christian confes- 
 sion of faith ; that he stands high above such barriers, and that 
 the word of God therefore has no right, furthermore, to set him 
 such boundaries Arid, as these principles are so powerful to 
 banish "discordant feelings" and "prejudices" from earth and to 
 "make the world a Paradise," they give him a gentle hint, in this 
 degree, that he must seek to spread them ; declare, among other 
 things, on page 196, that the love of man is even prerequisite to 
 the love of God, and "mankind is our family, our country the 
 earth, our nation the human race." To awaken in him love for 
 the "work," he is shown the emblem of the Horn of Plenty, 
 which will now most assuredly pour out upon him the entire full- 
 ness of riches, of joy and of prosperity, and the emblem of con- 
 straining justice, the Sword, in order to be ready "to defend the 
 right, even (if need be) unto death " (p. 206). And so he comes 
 into possession of the "many beauties and merits" of this degrees. 
 
 (unn Y) 
 
148 
 
 When the fourfold degraded man has made good progress in 
 she "duties and labors " of the lodge, he can finally receive the 
 afth, or " Scarlet Degree.* This is dedicated to truth, but by 
 no means to the truth of sacred writ, but to the truth of his own 
 heart's shrine. Everything that his own heart " dictates," in 
 religious matters, is right and true ; and this truth shall direct 
 him how to act. This is "the Degree of the Priestly Order." 
 Every brother of this degree is to "represent" Aaron, as "priest 
 and monarch of himself and all around him"; "as such, he is 
 an example in speech and action, blessing and purifying others" 
 The lodge expects of every one who has received this degree, that 
 lie "understand and preserve inviolate" its ''mysteries, and to 
 observe that his brethren do the same " ; the more so, because 
 now " all stations of the lodge" are open to him, and he can enter 
 as one who " is enabled to speak as by authority." Therefore he 
 is also charged : " Correct the errors and confirm the faith of 
 your brethren ; it is your office, your right, your duty." He 
 must "strive to hasten the period when every man shall be ... a 
 priest," and shall assure the brethren "that God is our Father, 
 and will make us the sharers of His immortality and eternal life " 
 (Compare p. 210-22^.. 
 
 After the poor man has now been caught in the net of the 
 lodge, and by degrees has learned to love its doctrine, that the 
 old Adam loves so well, and has received the five degrees and 
 paid for them his hard-earned money (for every degree costs 
 its "sum," usually two dollars), he will "naturally desire to 
 advance further" (p. 355), in order to receive the three "sub- 
 lime" degrees of the encampment, "with their rich stores of 
 instruction." " Every Odd Fellow should make it his aim to 
 reach the topmost round of the ladder of Oddfellowship, the 
 
 * When a dispensation IB granted by the Grand Master, all the 
 degrees can be conferred at once. 
 
149 
 
 Royal Purple Degree " (Pocket Comp., p. 197), so that the 
 encampment may also receive from him the handsome sums of 
 entrance fee and the monthly, yearly and other contributions, and 
 can give him further light. If the poor and egregiously deluded 
 man resolves to take this degree, he must apply for it in writing, 
 enclosing the initiation fee (twelve to twenty dollars), and can 
 then, if chosen by ballot, receive the first encampment degree, the 
 Patriarchal. On this occasion he is instructed, that virtue is 
 above all things ; and that it is his duty particularly to exercise 
 hospitality to the brother patriarchs, and that these " especially " 
 must receive his "sympathy" and "aid." Those who obligate 
 themselves to do so are admonished: "If ye know these things, 
 happy are ye if ye do them." To strengthen him in his purpose, 
 three pillars are shown him, with the explanation that these are 
 the Wisdom, Strength and Beauty of Religion, and the supports 
 and ornaments of our Temple of Universal Brotherhood" (Com- 
 pare Manual, p. 365-373). If the "patriarch" now practices 
 all the virtues, well enough ; but this does not saffice. He lacks 
 yet the greatest light and the deepest mystery ; this shall now be 
 imparted and revealed to him in the "Golden Rule Degree." And 
 what is now the greatest light of the order, that the candidate, at 
 his initiation into this degree, receives V It shines forth from the 
 following declarations: "Confessions of faith" are "differences 
 of opinion." "In our Tents no sectarian or national distinctions 
 are recognized." " Followers of different Teachers, ye are wor- 
 shipers of One God, who is Father of all, and therefore ye are 
 brethren"! "The descendants of Abraham, the diverse followers 
 of Jesus, the Patriarchs of the stricter sects (these are Heathen 
 in the East Indies. The Author.), here gather around the same 
 altar, as one family, manifesting no differences of creed or wor- 
 ship." "They have left their prejudices at the door, arid mingle 
 in one circle of brotherhood, harmony and love" (Man., pp. 874- 
 388). " It heeds not whether the man be a ... Jew 
 
150 
 
 (Pocket Comp., p. 306). " Jew or Gentile, Catholic or Protestant, 
 is, as such, welcome to our lodges and our hearts" (Pocket Cornp., 
 ,p. 307). We unite with every man " in practising those great 
 precepts which belong to ail religions" (Manual, p. 384). *' The 
 authority of conscience, in religion, must be paramount" (Manual, 
 p. 376) And, as these principles are so infinitely weighty and 
 necessary for the improvement of the human race, ''let us, then, 
 not cease its practice, while we urge the reasons for our faith. 
 On it let us all unite in furthering the mission of Oddfellowship n 
 (Manual, p. 384). We will therefore seriously endeavor to con- 
 vert to our faith all " who bow not at our altar" (p. 386). 
 
 With these declarations the order has proclaimed its mongrel 
 religion, that is, a heathen religion, which eyery Jew, Gentile, 
 Chinese, African and Hottentot has by nature. Christ, with his 
 work of redemption, is made perfectly superfluous ; instead of tne 
 word of God, the perverted conscience, estranged from God, is set 
 up as the rule and standard of religion. If, perhaps, until then, 
 the lodge member has yet been loosely connected with Chris- 
 tianity, this connection ceases entirely so soon as he has received 
 this degree and believes this doctrine. Heathenish doctrine is 
 restored, in its plainest and most marked form ; Christ is denied, 
 and placed on the same footing with Confucius, Budda and Zoro- 
 aster,* and man, estranged from Christ and his word, pointed to 
 his own corrupt heart and conscience, in matters of religion 
 
 * This is literally done in the " Odd Fellow of August, 1871, p. 114, 
 where it is said : " Who were the most renowned teachers of religion and 
 morals of the olden time ? Who were the men who first gave these ideas 
 a definite form and delivered them as systematic moral principles to their 
 fellow-men and pressed them upon their acceptance, just as they are to-day 
 LAID DOWN IN ODDFELLOWSHIP ? We know five, Moses, Budda, Confu- 
 cius, Zoroaster and Christ.' 7 The order, however, cannot accomplish much 
 with Moses ; he can consequently be "left out of consideration^ as he is 
 loo strict in his laws 
 
151 
 
 And to this faith the order will convert all ; that is its mission. 
 May God have mercy ! 
 
 There is one more, the last degree, the "Royal Purple De- 
 gree," which is the symbol of rest, and in it they, according to 
 their own assurances, enjoy a foretaste "of the immortal glorious 
 repose of immortality itself. " The candidate is received into it 
 with music, and instructed that, as he has now received the 
 "full light " of the "order," he must also let his light shine and 
 follow its principles. Then let* death come ; he need not fear it, 
 because these principles "alone can convert his conquest into our 
 triumph, even make us more than conquerors over the last enemy " 
 (Manual, p. 897). He can repose his head on the pillow of "con- 
 tent " and come up "to the land of eternal delight." 
 
 To the secrets of the order must be reckoned also the installa- 
 tion and swearing in of the officers. What duties are imposed 
 upon them more than is publicly made known, is not communi- 
 cated to the "profane." It is sufficient that we know that they 
 all are contradictory to the word of God. 
 
 Sometimes these gentlemen would fain count their benefactions, 
 inside and outside of the order, among their secrets ; but we can- 
 not suffer them to do so, as the so-called benefactions within 
 the order are annually published in many reports. And what is 
 here and there done outside of the order, they generally take good 
 care to make known to the world in some form or other. A society 
 of Odd Fellow ladies in Washington, D. C,, spent, for example, in 
 1870, $1500 for benevolent purposes, but much pains is taken that 
 this is published to the world through the press, as, for instance, 
 in the "Odd Fellow" of June, 1861, page 373. In the Eastern 
 States, a number of lodges (perhaps some two dozen) some time 
 ago collected money scarcely sufficient to send the widow of an 
 Odd Fellow, with some children, to Germany, and a number of 
 papers extolled them in the most extravagant terms. Those 
 who do not recognize the word of God in general, will pay no 
 
152 
 
 regard to the words in Matt. 6 : 1-3, much less will they act up 
 to them. 
 
 Since 1851, the order has seen fit to admit " ladies " into the 
 lodge, and to establish the " Rebecca Degree." The wives of 
 Odd Fellows, who have taken the five degrees, can he admitted, 
 and are then called " The daughters or Sisters of Rebecca/' 
 The establishment of this "degree" is certainly of advantage to 
 the order, as the unbelieving women of our land, in politics, anti- 
 chrisfcian agitations and the practice of abortions, form a power 
 by no means to be despised. Besides, the lodge brothers would 
 miss an immense intellectual advantage, if their better halves did 
 not belong to the lodge ; for they sing : " The purest light will 
 shine around us, when woman's goodness beams on us" ('-Odd 
 Fellow" of Nov., 1870, p. 697; Feb., 1871, p. 116). What a 
 terribly impure and foul light must accordingly < 'shine around " 
 them when "woman's perfection" does not beam on them ! They 
 have, however, found it advisable, up to this present time, to leave 
 the women in the ante-chamber, and to communicate to them only 
 a very small part of the precious secrets, as they only receive one 
 degree, while men, beside the officers' degrees, can attain to eight 
 degrees. Indeed, up to this date, they are not even allowed to 
 elect from among them a Mistress of the Chair. Those who 
 claim for women the ballot are therefore still far from having 
 attained the "equality of all races." The whole farce is, until 
 now, only a mockery of women's right to vote. 
 
 3. OATHS. 
 
 All the obligations of the order are taken under oath, or 
 promises that have the force of an oath. Every member must^ 
 at his initiation, promise, by oath : to obey the lodge and its 
 laws, to devote his life to the brotherhood, and to observe the 
 strictest silence in respect to the ' secret work" of the order. 
 
153 
 
 As we have already shown, all the officers must swear also, in 
 assuming their obligations. To be sure, the Manual (p. 74) 
 falsely declares: "We are not, therefore, an oath-bound institu- 
 tion, nor are our obligations oaths.'' But, that their obligations 
 really are oaths, the Manual itself admits (p. 41 0) : " The receiver 
 of this degree [the Grand Encampment Degree] appeals to heaven 
 and earth to witness the fidelity with which he will represent the 
 interests of his subordinates, and at the same time faithfully pre- 
 serve the secrets, advance the interests, and promote the welfare 
 of his Grand Encampment." That to " appeal unto Heaven and 
 Earth' 7 is swearing, we learn from Matthew 5 : 34, 35. There- 
 fore the assumed obligations are never considered and treated 
 otherwise than as taken en oath. In the "Odd Fellow" of July, 
 1870, p. 534, it is said of the members of secret societies : " By 
 the oath which unites them .... a power over the individual is 
 exercised, which no one can understand, who has not personally 
 felt its influence." From page 697, of November, 1870, and 
 page 54, of January, 1871, we learn that at the initiation of the 
 Sisters of Rebecca, they are charged, in song : " Swear by active 
 silence, swear in the fullness of the spirit." But, what oaths 
 are sworn in the dead of the night, behind the "Sentinels with 
 the Sword," we cannot even guess at, as no more of them is pub- 
 lished than what the lodge thinks fit.* 
 
 * As regards the oaths, it is a matter of fact, that the Order of Odd Fel- 
 lows have done away with and moderated the dreadful and repulsive forms 
 which were until lately in use in the Order of Free Masons. But the oath 
 they have retained, even if it is not always sworn by the " living God.' ; In 
 the Free Masons 7 oath the following passage occurs : "I vow and swear 
 hereby, in the presence of Almighty God, that I will never reveal the secrets 
 .... All this under no less punishment, than that niy throat shall be cut, 
 my tongue rent from the root of my mouth, my heart torn out from under 
 my left breast, . . . my body burned to ashes, and my ashes scattered over 
 the surface of the earth. " See Constitution of the Free Masons, of 1723, and 
 Hengstenber"g 7 s u Freemasonry and the Evangelical Ministry," p. 47 ff. 
 
154 
 
 We mus^ further count among the secrets, the obligation to 
 silence toward members of the lodge themselves, or the secrets ot 
 the members among each other. No one who, for example, has 
 taken the fifth degree, dare divulge to his "brother" of the fourth 
 degree the secrets of the fifth degree ; neither dare one who has 
 received the fourth degree, communicate its "secret" to his 
 brethren of the third degree. No brother of a higher grade dare 
 reveal its secrets to those who have not yet received the respective 
 degrees ; and so the pitiable mysteriousness pervades the whole 
 order, f The brotherly love of the members of the lodge does not 
 permit them to communicate the " sublime doctrines " of the higher 
 degree to the brethren of the subordinate degrees, that they might 
 be " made better men , " No; it is shackled completely by their 
 trash of secrecies. And, should a "brother" be too poor to pay 
 for the higher degrees, he cannot receive the "full light of the 
 order," but must eternally languish in the twilight. 
 
 But r for what reason must the order have "secrets"? A 
 number of answers to this question have, directly or indirectly, 
 been given ; but we will only state one given in the Odd Fellow 
 of April, 1871, page 244, which reads as follows: because "they 
 draw new members into our lodges"! The world loves to be 
 fooled, and the lodges know this. 
 
 * Secrets pervade the whole order. It is impossible that one brother 
 can trust the other, not knowing what secrets he has. During the assembly 
 of the Grand Lodge of the United States, which holds all its sessions in 
 secret, they hold extra secret sessions, to which the Grand Sire admits only 
 some elect. These sessions are therefore, with the exception of the few elec^ 
 persons, secret to the whole order, even to those who have received every 
 possible " degree." See " Heart and Hand t ;; No. 96, 1872. In these doubly 
 secret sessions the plans are devised, for the execution of which, so many 
 members, unknown to themselves, suffer themselves to be made use of. 
 
155 
 IV. ACTIVITY. 
 
 11 The first, business of a lodge is, of course, to increase its 
 membership " (Pocket Oomp., p. 151). "Wedging" is one of 
 the duties of the lodge members. The subordinate lodges are 
 called " working lodges," chiefly because they have to draw 
 others into the lodge by the mighty power of persuasion ; and 
 this most of the members do. They exert themselves in and 
 outside of the beer saloon, to persuade men and induce them to 
 join their lodge. That in this ''work" Truth is an entirely sub- 
 ordinate consideration ; that they work cunningly, like serpents, 
 is a matter of course. If they have to deal with one who is reli- 
 giously inclined, they seek to convince him, by all manner of lies, 
 that the lodge esteems Christianity very highly ; that on that 
 account it makes use of the Bible, prays and sings ; that it is the 
 lodge that really obeys the command of God, to do good to the 
 widows and orphans, and that tbe secret societies have been "the 
 conservators .... of religious . . . truth" (Manual, p. H). If 
 they have an unbeliever before them, he is pointed to the great 
 advantages offered by the lodge ; he is told that the dues are very 
 small, ; but the aid received is very material. And in such a case 
 they succeed more easily if the person addressed has a large family 
 and no certain means of support ; but these are not the most sought 
 after.* 
 
 Is this every subordinate lodge's "first business," "to increase 
 its membership," so it is the task of the more influential members 
 to win others of influence ar respectability to the order. Toward 
 
 * We must also reckon among the means of drawing persons into the 
 lodge, the visits to the sick, which are chiefly made for this purpose, as is 
 plainly'seen from their writings. See, for example, " Lodge Bulletin 7 ' of 
 October, 1871. 
 
such the high morality and glorious liberality of the order is 
 extolled, and how much good they can accomplish through their 
 influence, if they should unite with it. Great joy prevails every- 
 where, if they succeed in winning a prominent person. With no 
 small degree of self-esteem, the order boasts that very many Con- 
 gressmen in Washington are members of their order ; that even 
 the ex- Vice-President, Schuyler Colfax, is a "brother. " Such 
 "brothers" in high standing must use all the influence of their 
 position to promote the welfare of the order. And that "brothers" 
 be elected to Congress and to every possible office, every one in the 
 lodge, great and small, looks to. Many people who do not belong 
 to the lodge, neither are acquainted with the workings of these 
 "brethren," place them in office by their votes; of course, igno- 
 rantly. Did all Christians know the nature and principles of the 
 order, certainly no one would vote for one of its members. Nor 
 is it possible, that a member of a lodge, who has promised, by 
 oath, firstly and above all other things, "to seek the welfare of 
 the order and the brethren," can impartially seek and promote the 
 welfare of the entire country and all classes of our population. 
 If, for example, he be chosen as representative, he must either 
 break his oath to the lodge (and that scarcely one out of a thou- 
 sand will do) and impartially strive for the good of all classes of 
 the population, or he must first "seek the good of the order," 
 whereby, as a matter of course, the others are more or less at a 
 disadvantage. 
 
 It would probably have been very difficult for the order to gain 
 entrance into Prussia, had not our former V ice-President, Mr. 
 Colfax, brought to bear the whole weight of his position in favor 
 of the order. In consequence of this influence, and, very likely, 
 also in consequence of Jesuitical art of persuasion, Baron v 
 Gerolt, North German Ambassador in Washington, was favorably 
 inclined to the doctrines and practices of the Odd Fellows, and 
 also "transmitted to his government a highly favorable report of 
 
157 
 
 of the Order*'* ("Odd Fellow " of July, 1871, p. 51; Pro- 
 ceedings of the G. L. U. S., 1811, p. 5515 ff.). 
 
 In seeking, with special preference, to win influential persons to 
 the order, they do not, however, neglect to draw the attention of 
 all classes upon themselves. This is accomplished by means of 
 pompous processions, public installations of the officers of the 
 lodge, and through the press. The public installation of their 
 officers is an invention of modern times. Their object is clearly 
 expressed in " Heart and Hand" of October 5th, 1870, where it 
 says: *' They (the public installations) draw attention to the order. 
 A lodge may exist in a place for years, and is known only to its 
 members. A public ceremony has the effect of bringing our fel- 
 low-citizens into our halls." For this reason, they take great 
 pains to make them very ostentatious. The world likes to be 
 fooled. 
 
 * In order to introduce Oddfellowship into Germany, after the Grand 
 Lodge of the United States had passed the respective resolution at its ses- 
 sion in California, 1869, Dr. J. L. Morse was nominated as Special Deputy 
 for Germany and Switzerland, and commissioned to do everything in his 
 power to introduce the order mto those countries. .According to his own 
 report, which he handed in to the G. L. U. S. in Chicago in 1871, he founded 
 on the 1st of December, 1870, Wurtemburg Lodge No. 1, in Stuttgart; on the 
 2d of April, 1871, Germania Lodge No. 1, in Berlin ; on the 23d of May, 
 Farnsworth Encampment, in the same place; on the 6th of June, Saxonia 
 Lodge No. 1, in Dresden; and on the 1'Jth of June, Helvetia Lodge No. 1, 
 in Berne. He had scarcely left Germany when, already in July, the second 
 lodge, Borussia Lodge No, 2, was established in Berlin. (See Proceedings 
 Grand Lodge of the United States, p. 5007 if.) On the 9th of Decem- 
 ber, 1871, a lodge was founded in Berlin which "works" in the English 
 language, for the convenience of the American Odd Fellows traveling in 
 Germany. According to the latest report of the G. L, U, S, (of 1873), there 
 are now in existence in Germany and Switzerland 19 lodges and 16 encamp- 
 ments. Since the 1st of October, 1871, a paper appears in Berlin, edited by 
 Wilh, Altvater and Paul Juhre, under title " Heart and Hand," which is in 
 the interest of the order. (See " Heart and Hand," Jan. 6th, 1672.4 
 
158 
 
 The lodge is well acquainted with, the influence of the press, and 
 therefore exerts itself to make industrious use of it for its own 
 purposes. The order itself has a number of periodicals, about a 
 dozen, in which they praise up to the world their good works, their 
 high morality and toleration. These papers are partly official, 
 partly edited and published by prominent members of the order, 
 and they still endeavor to increase their number. They also take 
 pains to win the entire press of the country, as far as possible, to 
 their side, and, wherever it is practicable, to bring an Odd Fellow 
 into the editor's chair; and if they do not succeed in this, at least 
 to send, from time to time, to the most popular papers, articles for 
 publication, filled with glorifications of the order. 
 
 The order has a regular system of aid for cases of sickness and 
 death. Every one in "good standing," who is not indebted to 
 the lodge, or does not^tand under any charge, receives, in case of 
 sickness, weekly, the appointed sum (usually from three to fifteen 
 dollars). If his wife dies, he receives the funeral expenses (from 
 fifteen to twenty-five dollars). If a brother dies, his wife receives 
 double this sum. The widows and orphans of the brothers are 
 not provided for according to any established rule. If an Odd 
 Fellow's widow applies to the lodge for support, and the committee 
 of investigation find her needy, they generally grant her aid. They 
 act in a similar manner toward the orphans, for whom they have 
 already founded a number of orphan asylums, with schools, and 
 are intending to establish still more.* 
 
 Lately, almost all the State Grand Lodges have instituted Life- 
 insurance Leagues for their members, in such a manner that at the 
 death of a brother, every member of this Life-Insurance League 
 
 * The order has also occupied itself, for the past few years, with the 
 erection of colleges, in order to obtain scientifically educated members, from 
 whom they naturally expect very advantageous results to the lodges. Every * 
 thing like with the Jesuits. 
 
159 
 
 must pay a fixed sum (usually one dollar), and the wife of the 
 deceased receives as many dollars as there are members in the 
 society ; the number of members does not usually exceed 2000 to 
 3000. 
 
 In the large cities, where there are several lodges, they have 
 begun to read a list of all the brothers that are without employ- 
 ment, in every meeting of the lodge, so that all who have or know 
 of employment, can be of aid to them in procuring it. Besides all 
 this, the order considers every member morally bound, where it i& 
 at all possible, to employ brothers, in case he must employ some 
 one. The Grand Encampment of Wisconsin resolved, for instance, 
 in the year 1871, to allow no one but a member of the order to 
 print the Report of their Convention, their Constitution and By- 
 Laws.* 
 
 But all these are secondary matters, only " means to the end," 
 "hardly a tithe of their aims and objects." The chief aim is and 
 will be, to ''reform the world," and to "convert all men to their 
 faith." But members do not learn this before they are themselves 
 converted (or rather perverted) to the faith of the order. When 
 that has taken place, it is enjoined upon them, in the " Golden 
 Eule Degree," as their duty. 
 
 According to the Proceedings of the Grand Lodge of the United 
 States, of 1873, p. 5671, the order had 385,097 members, in 5045 
 lodges, and we apprehend that by far the greater portion of the 
 members are already converted to its faith. The report of the 
 Convention of the G. L. U. S., of September, 1873, states an. 
 increase of 57,220 members and 753 lodges, according to page 
 5800. Weeds grow apace. This is certainly an earnest admoni- 
 tion to every Christian : Wake up. thou that sleepest ! 
 
 See Proceedings of the Grand Encampment. 1871, p, 232. 
 
160 
 
 V. WHETHER IT IS PROFITABLE TO JOIN THE 
 
 LODGE. 
 
 We will not enter here into the immeasurable detriment to the 
 soul which the acceptance of the lodge's doctrine entails, and 
 which must be its consequence ; for this cannot be calculated, 
 neither according to degree nor time. Loss of faith in Christ 
 carries with it everlasting condemnation. We will only briefly 
 inquire, how great the material advantage or damage is, which 
 one has in consequence of joining the lodge. This can be calcu- 
 lated and stated in dollars and cents. We deem this the more 
 necessary, as, alas ! it is by promises of earthly advantages that, 
 as we believe, most members have been and are daily gained for 
 the order. 
 
 " Christian," in his conversation with "Ernest," proves from 
 several Reports, that not quite the third part of the money paid 
 into the lodge is expended for purposes of relief; yet this propor- 
 tion, on the whole, is not generally even reached. " Heart and 
 Hand," a paper "for Odd Fellows and Daughters of Rebecca," 
 of September 2d, 1871, teaches us better. It says : " We notice 
 in an exchange the startling query that the Odd Fellows have a 
 revenue of four millions annually, and that they expend in relief 
 only one million dollars a year, and ' what becomes of the other 
 three millions?' If a man makes a hundred thousand dollars a 
 year, and gives away one or two thousand to worthy objects, he is 
 reckoned a liberal-minded, charitable gentleman. And so he is. 
 But the Odd Fellows give away one- fourth of their gross receipts, 
 and, ignoring this fact entirely, some dissatisfied, jealous growler 
 says, with as much eagerness as if he contributed the whole of it, 
 1 Where is the rest of the money?' Well, we will tell. In the 
 first place, one-fourth of it goes for the relief of brethren and 
 
161 
 
 widows, burying the dead, and educating the orphan. In the 
 second place, Odd Fellows have to pay for rent, fuel, and service 
 done at their meetings, just the same as if they were other human 
 beings. Their furniture, regalia, and appointments, not being of 
 indestructible material, strange as it may appear, frequently need 
 replacing, and people charge them for the same, as though they 
 Were ordinary mortals. To run an establishment of 4000 lodges 
 requires rooms, halls, &c., and we generally have good ones. 
 Every one of our 325,000 members and 68,000 officers must have 
 regalia appropriate," <fec., &c. therefore the Odd Fellow Lodges 
 expend only, according to their own admission, the fourth part of 
 their income for purposes ot relief; almost three-fourths of their 
 income is swallowed up by officers, regalia, lodge-rooms, furniture, 
 traveling expenses of the officers, &c. And yet they boast a great 
 deal of their charities, and imagine that if they expended only 
 $2000 out of every $100,000 for purposes of relief, they should 
 justly be accounted "liberal-minded and charitable," like the man 
 they cite. From this it is evident, that when a lodge member has 
 paid in $100, he receives, on an average, $25 back. On paying 
 $400, he may, as a general thing, expect $100. No common 
 mutual-aid society has, to this day, done as badly as this. Then 
 must be counted in the many extra expenses of the members, as 
 for "wedging," for their regalia, with their ornaments, and so 
 forth, often amounting to a considerable sum annually. 
 
 Whoever, therefore^ wishes to get rid of his money, and to 
 inflict temporal and eternal damage upon his soul, let him unite 
 with the lodge ! To be sure the afore mentioned paper says that 
 the order (that is, all the subordinate lodges, all the State Grand 
 Lodges and the Grand Lodge of the United States, taken together) 
 owns property to the value of twenty million dollars. How much 
 of this Bum the poox will receive, time must determine. Our expec- 
 tations are not very great. Judging by what has hitherto been 
 done by the lodge, they do not even receive the hundredth part. 
 
162 
 
 But, should it really not be profitable to join the lodge, as by 
 doing so one receives more aid, can more easily find employment, 
 and if one is a mechanic or merchant, gains many customers? 
 Every one may find the answer to this question from experience. 
 If you pay attention, you will observe that, regularly, out of every 
 ten bankrupts, eight belong to the Free Masons or Odd Fellows. 
 If the promised mutual aid brought the hoped-for earthly 
 advantages, this rule would have to be reversed, so that of every 
 ten bankrupts two, at the uttermost, were Odd Fellows or Free 
 Masons. But we do not find this to be the case. Or is the sup- 
 position perhaps correct, that they declare themselves bankrupt in 
 order to make money thereby ? This would indeed be a fatal wit- 
 ness against the highly extolled morality of the order. 
 
 That the lodge does not afford aid from motives of and accord- 
 ing to charity, but only where there is a legal obligation to do so, 
 is the natural consequence of its doctrines; and experience, as 
 well as the official 1-3 ports of the order, confirms this fact. From 
 the great multitude of examples of this kind we will only furnish 
 a few, and these such as have been officially published by the 
 order itself. We take these from " Minutes of the Grrand Lodge 
 of I. 0. 0. F. of Pennsylvania, 1871." On page 492 ff. it is 
 reported that H-enry L. Genther, member of the "Old Mononga- 
 hela Lodge No. 209, in Elizabeth, Alleghany Co., Pa.," who 
 claimed the constitutional funeral expenses, as his wife had died. 
 On the 29th of November, 1870, he made his application to the 
 lodge, but the Noble Grand decided that he was not entitled to 
 relief. Genther appealed, and represented in writing that he mailed 
 a registered letter containing five dollars, addressed to the Secre- 
 tary of the lodge, on the 4th day of October, 1870, at Braid wood, 
 Illinois, and claimed that the money, from the time he mailed that 
 registered letter, ceased to be his property and became the prop- 
 erty of the lodge (according to our opinion, quite correctly), and 
 on the 8th of October (therefore four days later) his wife died ; 
 
that he was therefore, at the time of her death, not indebted to 
 the lodge ; on the contrary, had a balance in hit? favor, and was 
 on that account entitled to relief. But the lodge declared that 
 the money was not received and credited until the llth of October, 
 and up to that time he owed the lodge $3.59, and that amount was 
 placed to his credit under that date, and the remainder of $1.41 
 entered in his favor. However, the money not arriving until three 
 days after the death of his wife, he was not entitled to receive the 
 funeral expenses. Genther replied, that as he lived some 100 
 miles distant from his lodge, he could not possibly be made respon- 
 sible for the time when the money should arrive, if he mailed it in 
 good time in a registered letter. But it was ail of no avail ; the 
 decision of the Noble Grand was sustained. This affair was then 
 brought up before a Board of Appeal of the State Grand Lodge of 
 Pennsylvania ; but its decision was the same ; so that the lodge 
 might keep its money. Whoever owes the lodge but five cents, 
 gets nothing, no matter whether he has paid for one year or thirty 
 years, if the money does not come at the right time, no matter 
 whether through his fault or without his fault. 
 
 How much the lodge cares for the widows and orphans, another 
 example may illustrate. On page 486 ff. of the above mentioned 
 document, we find the following story : Jacob Dauinb, member of 
 the Chambersburg Lodge No. 175, Chambersburg, Franklin Co., 
 Pa., removed some nine years ago to Fort Wayne, Indiana Co., 
 Pa. , and remitted his dues from there to the lodge. He sent the 
 last five dollars in the month of February, 1869, and it was placed 
 to his credit the 5th of March of the same year. This sum not 
 only covered his indebtedness, but left a balance of seventy-five 
 cents in his favor. The by-laws of his lodge provide that no 
 member is entitled to any benefits until four weeks after he haa 
 paid his indebtedness. On the 29th of March J. Daumb suddenly 
 died, and the question arose, "Is the widow, Elizabeth Daumb, 
 entitled to the funeral expenses?" The lodge decided, "No," 
 
164 
 
 because on the 5th of March the five dollars were placed to his credit^ 
 and on the 29th of the same month he died, therefore before the 
 four weeks had expired ; for this reason she is not entitled to relief. 
 Th's matter was also laid before the Board of Appeal of the State 
 Grand Lodge, but that gave the same decision ; so that the lodge 
 might retain the money ; and the widow, whether needy or not, 
 received nothing. From this it is very apparent that the lodge 
 cunningly seeks to withhold its benefits, wherever it can find a 
 plausible pretext to do so, even when it is morally, yea legally 
 hound to render them, as in this case. The man had paid " some 
 time in the month of February/' as the lodge itself declares. 
 February had, in the year 1869, only 28 days. As he had paid 
 in the month of February, it could not have been later than on 
 .the 28th, this being the last day of the month ; from the 28th of 
 February till the 29th of March, the day of his death, it is, as 
 everybody knows, over four weeks, and accordingly his widow was 
 (entitled to receive the funeral expenses, according to the by-laws 
 of that lodge. But the Secretary had not entered the sum till 
 the 5th of March, and the lodge chose to reckon from that date, 
 because it was to its own interest ; and so they left the widow 
 without aid. As in the first case, the man was made responsible 
 for the management and delivery of the mail, so in this case the 
 widow is made responsible for the Secretary's faithful discharge of 
 his duties. It is easy to understand that in this and similar ways 
 the lodge can " make money " with ease. There is no appeal from 
 the decision of the Grand Lodge. 
 
 This is the way the lodge acts toward " brothers" and "sis- 
 ters." What, then, can those expect who are not members., or 
 who are opposed to secret societies? The much vaunted "love" 
 and "brotherhood" extends, at best, just as far as the payments 
 reach, but not a hair breadth further. Indeed its motto, " love," 
 i, in the fullest sense of the word, an immense lie. 
 
165 
 
 VI. _ HOW THE ORDER AGREES WITH THE PRIN- 
 CIPLES OF OTHER SECRET SOCIETIES, ESPE- 
 CIALLY WITH THE DOCTRINES OF 
 THE FREE MASONS.* 
 
 All tne secret societies, of which there are a great many in this 
 country (according to the "Odd Fellow," almost a hundred), agree 
 in their fundamental principles (at least we have not yet found a 
 single exception). All have the same religious principles, the 
 same doctrine, the same religion, namely natural religion, pretend- 
 ing to recognize a Supremo Being, whom every one can and shall 
 serve according to the desires of his heart and the selfish voice of 
 his conscience, for ^hieh they of course cannot and will not use 
 the word of God, and making its mission to reform the world and 
 to " convert " it " to their belief." Besides the Odd Fellows and 
 Free Masons, out of the great number of secret societies, we men- 
 tion only a few, as : Druids, Harugari, Red Men, Knights of 
 Pythias, Sons of Herman, No Surrenders, Good Fellows, the 
 Order of the Seven Wise Men, Sons of Temperance, Good Tem- 
 plars, the Order of B'nai B'rith, the Order of St. Crispin, &c., 
 &c., to which must be added the Order of the " Foresters," 
 which was established here about 1863; its first " District Court" 
 was founded in New York in 1864, and it carries its devastations 
 
 * According to the Report of the Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted 
 Masons of the United States, of 1871, this order numbers, in the United 
 States and Canada, 454,355 members. Whoever wishes to gain a more par- 
 ticular insight into the nature and practice of this anti Christian order, to 
 him we recommend the work, "Acacia Blossoms from the Free Masons 7 
 Qrder," by F. W. A. Hiedel, Evang. Pastor; a book manifesting diligent 
 tudv and Christian sentiment. 
 
166 
 
 not only among adults but also among the young; and the Patrons 
 of Husbandry, established about 18G7. 
 
 Not one of these orders rests upon the foundation of the divine 
 word ; they all confess the universal religion of the natural man. 
 Kvery member of such an order makes unto himself a God accord- 
 ing to his own pleasure and the imaginations of his evil'heart, just 
 as he likes to have him, and then he represents him to be the 
 " Creator and Preserver of the Uni verse. " Should this purely 
 imaginary deity after a while cease to please him, or has it gone 
 out of fashion, he can be remodeled as occasion requires, or indeed 
 an entirely new one manufactured. Every one having his own 
 God, each one will of course endeavor to convert others to his 
 God, and this is the way in which unity shall be restored to the 
 distracted world. We are most anxious to see this unity and this 
 " glorious epoch." The Lord our God once said to his people: 
 "According to the number of thy cities were thy gods" (Jer. 
 11 : 13). As regards the lodge, this would be saying too little. 
 It would suit it better to say : " According to the number of thy 
 members are thy gods." Indeed we would like to see two mem- 
 bers of the order who have, honor and worship one and the same 
 God. 
 
 Just as the different secret societies coincide in the principles 
 of natural or heathen religion, so iu their form of government 
 they all rest upon one and the same basis, namely, that of the law, 
 or, more correctly speaking, of despotism. And this at least partly 
 explains the very close relation in the form of government and 
 administration. In every order the members are linked together 
 by rules; the iron straight jacket is laid on every one, and he i s 
 robbed of a great part of his personal freedom. In all the orders 
 the oath, here in a more shocking and there in a milder form, plays 
 an important roll and is a strong tie. 
 
 It would of course transcend the narrow limits of this little 
 book, should we endeavor to prove the agreement in doctrines and 
 
167 
 
 principles of about a dozen of these Orders, as shown in their 
 books of instruction, constitutions, papers, &c.* We content our- 
 selves, therefore, with giving, as concisely as possible, an abstract 
 of the principal doctrines of the Free Masons, in order to furnish 
 the proof that the doctrines of the Odd Fellows and Free Masons 
 are as much alike as one egg is like the other, or one hand resem- 
 bles the other. We take this short statement of doctrine from 
 Macoy : "The Free Masons' Manual. A Pocket Companion for 
 the Initiated. Translated into the German by J. P. Finkelmeier. 
 New York, 1870." On page 5 is said: Freemasonry is an order 
 founded by virtuous men for the noble design of preserving in us, 
 watchful and active, the sense for the most sublime truths in the 
 midst of innocent and social pleasures. Founded upon noble- 
 mindedness, brotherly love and benevolence, it is a glorious sys- 
 tem of morality." This order has the Bible, chaplains, sermons, 
 prayers, and allmanner of religious ceremonies. It believes, like 
 the Odd Fellows, in a " Supreme Being." The order publishes to 
 the world that the foundation upon which Free Masonry rests is 
 "faith in and acknowledgment of a Supreme Being" (p. 12). 
 But we should be very much mistaken should we imagine that 
 they rest alone upon that basis. This foundation alone is entirely 
 too weak. In order to prevent the danger of breaking tb rough 
 this weak foundation, they add another to it. And what is it? 
 Geometry ! Concerning this we read on page 62^: " Geometry, 
 the noblest of sciences, is the foundation upon which the edifice 
 of Freemasonry is erected." And on page 4 the candidate is 
 "particularly recommended" to "study geometry, wh-ch forms 
 the foundation of our art." The order says (p. 21) : <k The entire 
 
 * Whoever wishes further information concerning the doctrines and 
 principles of the different secret societies, we recommend to him "The 
 Christian Cynosure, 7 ' edited by E, A. Cook, 13 Wabash Ave.< Chicago, 111.; 
 weekly edition $2. 
 
168 
 
 universe is the temple of the Divinity which we adore." And 
 this self-invented divinity is so terribly bold as to enact "laws/' 
 and to demand that we "should render it that reasonable homage " 
 which the Free Masons declare "constitutes the summary of our 
 duties and our felicity " (p. 43). Freemasonry teaches "the 
 duties we owe to G-od, our neighbors and ourselves " (p. 66). 
 And what is the source of this instruction ? We hear, on page 67 : 
 "The brothers of this degree (the third), who have maintained 
 unimpaired the ancient landmarks of our order, are the source, 
 from which we derive that treasure of instruction and informa- 
 tion " They have, then, of course, no need of the sacred Scrip- 
 tures as "source" of the knowledge of salvation. The Free 
 Masons declare, solemnly and in all seriousness, on page 34 ; 
 " No institution was ever established on better principles or 
 erected on a firmer foundation." The Christian Church, which 
 is founded upon the word of Almighty God, and upon the blood 
 of our everlasting High Priest, has, according to this, a much 
 weaker " foundation " and much worse "principles." The Free 
 Masons even believe in " that heavenly lodge, where the Supreme 
 Architect of the Universe presides" (p. 18). To get there is 
 naturally their desire; but how to accomplish it? Well, that is 
 very simple. This place is "the starry heaven which all good 
 Masons hope finally to reach, by the aid of that spiritual ladder, 
 which Jacob saw in his dream extending from earth to heaven" 
 (p. 22). "Every one must merit the evidence of a contented con- 
 science " (p. 108); must render punctual obedience to the laws 
 and ordinances of the lodge ; then they can, " as Master Masons, 
 enjoy in old age the blissful fruits of a well-spent life, and depart 
 from hence in the confidence of a glorious immortality" (p. .75). 
 On their death bed " the happy remembrance of a virtuously spent 
 life will be their sole consolation" (p. 124). We must, however, 
 in accordance with the everlasting word of G-od, exclaim : Woe, 
 woe unto him who has no other consolation upon his dying bed 1 
 
169 
 
 And, finally, these mistaken souls imagine their self-invented 
 deity, the Grand Master of that heavenly lodge, will call to 
 them from the starry heaven : " Come, ye blessed of my Father, 
 inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the 
 world " (p. 128). 
 
 But in the meanwhile they are still upon earth, and there are 
 many " duties" for them to fulfill. Above all things, obedience 
 and observation of the constitution is required. If any one is 
 uncertain about anything, he is referred to the "Book of the 
 Constitution," the law and gospel of Freemasonry. We read 
 concerning the Constitution, on page 23: "As certain guides to 
 an exemplary life, unerring rules, with which every lodge is pro- 
 vided, are suggested to the Free Mason. The law book lies before 
 him, that he cannot say, he erred through ignorance ; and what 
 the grand Architect of the Universe has ever ordained, as the way 
 to glorify him ; the path of virtue in which he desires us to walk 
 the directions which he has ever given to attain his approbation, 
 as well as the laws which he announced through the wise men of 
 antiquity, are all faithfully laid down in the law book of Free- 
 masonry. This book reveals the duties which the Grand Master 
 has imposed upon us, clearly and openly, and intelligible to every 
 intellect; who among us durst, then, say he was ignorant of the 
 true worship." The "grand Architect of the world" has given 
 and promulgated laws through the "wise men of antiquity." 
 Who were these " wise men " ? They were the wise men of the 
 heathen Greeks and Romans, who worshiped idols. The "great 
 Architect of the Universe" is therefore in perfect unity of the 
 faith with these Heathen. This agreement of doctrine we really 
 find in the constitution, that is, coincidence in doctrine with all 
 Free Masons, with whom the "great Architect of the Universe " 
 is in perfect harmony, as he is said to have given these ordinance-* 
 and laws. Their constitution says, among other things, that they 
 find it expedient to bind their members " alone to that religion in 
 
170 
 
 which all mankind agree." * What is, then, this religion in which 
 all men by nature agree? That there is one God only? No. That 
 there is a Triune God ? Oh, no. That Jesus is the Son of God? 
 By no means ! That he has redeemed us by his blood ? Not at 
 all! That there is a hell for the impenitent and unbelievers? 
 On no account 1 What is it, then ? Do right, fear no one ; if 
 there is a heaven, you will surely go there. In this religion, it is 
 true, all men by nature agree, as well as in the article : Believe 
 what you please, nothing depends upon faith. 
 
 Every journyman Free Mason is admonished : " You are bound 
 zealously to support our laws and ordinances" (p. 64); indeed "you 
 are obligated by the most sacred ties, to the fulfillment of these 
 duties " (p. 65). "Duty and Honor bind" every Master Mason " to 
 the furtherance of a strict obedience to the laws of Free Masonry " 
 (p. 81). Such obedience "will convince the world that we deserve 
 the blessings of our privileges." They declare that "only wor- 
 thy men are admitted to their enjoyment, after they have taken a 
 voluntary oath of allegiance" (p. 14). It is made known to the 
 candidate, " that nothing will be required of him that could be an 
 obstacle to his civil, moral, and religious obligations" (p. 14). 
 Nothing more is required of him, as a matter of course, than that 
 he should reject the word of God, deny Christ, give up his entire 
 Christian belief and hold brotherly communication with unbelievers, 
 in contradiction to the plain word of God (2 Cor. 6 : 14 18). 
 
 It is an important law of the Free Masons, to assist all the broth- 
 ers. Hence all are admonished : " Remember, that you have laid 
 upon this altar the solemn promise to support and assist every 
 brother when he needs your aid " (p. 9). Because this is their 
 duty, there is also a good reason for them to encourage the timid 
 with the words : "Do not allow yourselves to be induced by any- 
 
 * See " Origin, Development and Signification of Secret Societies, by 
 . Clemen/' j> 77. 
 
171 
 
 thing (therefore not even by the word of God) to deviate from 
 your duties, to break your vows, or to betray the secrets entrusted 
 to you" (p. 82). Christians however are instructed by the word of 
 God, to break all sinful vows which they have made perhaps igno- 
 rantly. Dr. Luther says the same. Every " Master " must vow 
 to honor and esteem the genuine and true brothers, on the contrary 
 to despise and to avoid all deceivers and opostates from the origi- 
 nal plan of Free Masonry " (p. 97. if). He further promises " to 
 avoid and to despise every person" who is admitted into a Lodge, 
 which is in contradiction to his (p. 98). These gentlemen declare 
 that every man who "does not endeavor to add to the universal 
 treasures of science and enlightenment, may .... be considered 
 unworthy of our protection as a Free Mason" (p. 76.) A fine 
 universal love ! The Lord Jesus teaches us not only to love 
 "deceivers" and "apostates," but even our personal enemies. 
 The Free Masons teach " to despise and to avoid " all such. 
 
 Free Masonry has also a great mission to fulfill. As it has 
 placed itself above the word of God and the Christian religion, so 
 "Free Masonry receives men of every land, of every sect, and 
 opinion" (p. 29). And the more by * wedging' are wedged in, the 
 better. Their "System" is designed to "nourish and increase 
 among all men on the face of the globe" (p. VI). What is the 
 quintessence of their great mission? The " most important prob- 
 lem upon earth, the preparation for eternity " (p. 124). There- 
 fore they awaken "in the hearts of their disciples the knowledge of 
 the great Architect of the universe " (p. VI). On p. VIII all are 
 admonished : " Let us continually consider that the great aims of 
 our brotherly covenant are : the control of improper desires and 
 passions, the exercise of active benevolence and the obtaining of 
 a true knowledge of the duties, which we owe to God, our neighbors, 
 and ourselves." In this they of course have no need of the 
 word of God. They will " follow the one aim" "to be kind to each 
 Other, and to unite for the great purpose of becoming happy, and 
 
172 
 
 of creating and spreading happiness abroad" (p. 108 ff.). In 
 this thej are conducted by the " good genius" of their " secret art" 
 (p. VIII), and find the "sacred refuge of friendship and virtue " in 
 their Lodge (p. IX). As they want to control "improper desires 
 and passions," these -must dwell in their hearts. What will they 
 now do to pet rid of them ? That is to Free Masons a mere trifle. 
 They declare on p. 16: "We use the hammer in the lodge, in 
 order to purify our hearth and consciences from all the vices and 
 follies of life and thereby to prepare our souls as living stones for 
 that spiritual edifice .... in Heaven." To be sure, if the ham- 
 mer has such power, the blood of Christ is to them the most super- 
 fluous thing in the world. In spite of their rejection of the liv- 
 ing God and his word, they are still very pious people, for out of 
 every twenty-four hours, they devote "eight hours to the service of 
 God and of a needy brother " (p. 16). " To restore to the afflicted 
 heart its lost rest and peace, is the great aim" that they follow (p. 
 29). This of course is not accomplished through the only prince of 
 peace, but by the substitution of the thorny pillow of so-called 
 good works. The hearts of all men, but particularly those of the 
 "brothers," shall gradually be permeated "with the light of illumi- 
 nation" (p. 106). It is the duty of all, in thus warning against the 
 kingdom of God, and by means of such antichristian and satanic 
 doctrines " to create and spread happiness." And when the mem- 
 bers labor zealously to disseminate their false doctrines, they are 
 told : " Your \vork is done unto the Lord and your reward is with 
 your God" ! We believe this latter assertion fully ; if they are not 
 brought through the grace of God to upright repentance and con- 
 version, THEIR GOD will in his own time give them a suitable 
 "reward." In all that, the Free Mason must only take care that 
 he does not violate the " Constitution," and that he acts only in 
 accordance with the dictates of his perverted and darkened con- 
 science. For on p. 26 it is said : "Let every Free Mason so regu- 
 late his actions as the voice of his conscience best teaches him.' 1 
 
173 
 
 The Order endeavors with all its might to promulgate all theie 
 false doctrines, and experience teaches that it succeeds in so doing 
 In face of the great danger of being led astray by such unbe- 
 lievers, we cannot urgently enough recommend to all Christians 
 the faithful and diligent use of the blessed word of God, and not 
 pressingly enough urge them to continually pray: 
 
 " Tliy Word is like a flaming sword, 
 
 A wedge that cleaveth stone; 
 Keen as a fire, so burns Thy Word, 
 
 And pierceth flesh and bone . 
 Let it go forth o'er all the earth, 
 
 To cleanse our hearts within, 
 To show Thy power in satan's hour, 
 
 And break the might of sin. ;) 
 
 CONCLUDING REMARKS. 
 
 Ifc has not been in the remotest degree our intention, in setting 
 forth the false doctrines of the secret societies, to wound the feel- 
 ings of any one or do him wrong We have therefore strictly con- 
 fined ourselves to the sources of our information and entirely set 
 aside personal experience, as well as the experience of other Chris- 
 tians and congregations. That the picture which we gain, by 
 personal experience of the doings of the members of secret socie- 
 ties is a thousand times more dreadful than that which the Order 
 in its publications depicts of itself, is quite intelligible. The doc- 
 trines which they promulgate in their publications are, however, bad 
 enough to keep every Christian, who has any concern for his soul's 
 salvation, at a distance from the Lodge. And we would here most 
 
174 
 
 earnestly entreat every Christian not to suffer himself to be tempt- 
 ed to join, but to arm himself with the word of God and seriously 
 contend against their false doctrines. But alas, many Christians 
 and members of congregations are too little conversant with these 
 doctrines, and it happens that they often are drawn into the Lodge 
 by all manner of sweet sounding representations and phrases. The 
 more so, as the members of the lodge do it in the most artful way. 
 They never declare openly and intelligibly to all : " We will extermi- 
 inate Christianity " ; on the contrary, they frequently assume ttfe 
 appearance of great piety, and many a one thinks, " I will convince 
 myself," and joins the lodge in order, as he thinks, to convince 
 himself. And when he has been admitted, the standing phrase 
 is: "I have neither seen nor heard anything evil." This may 
 be in so far true, as that they have seen and h>ard nothing of so- 
 called grave immoralities. The word of God, however (2 Cor. 6), 
 has been transgressed. The lodge also suffers no new comers to 
 look into its secret designs and plans, but uses them, unconscious 
 to themselves, as tools, and only by degrees instils its false doc- 
 trines into them. Their eyes are darkened ; they are gradu- 
 ally, without observing it, turned off from the word of God and the 
 Church, become more indifferent to the preaching and the sacra- 
 ments ; the panegyrics and boasting of the many good works are 
 sweet music to the natural heart, and the doctrine of being made 
 good by our own virtues pleases more than repentance and 
 faith, and so they are gradually, without knowing it, con- 
 verted to the doctrine of the order. The forbidden com- 
 munion with unbelievers exercises a fearful influence, and that is 
 the reason why so few who have joined with the intention of invest- 
 igating the subject, come to a perception of the false doctrines 
 and withdraw irom the lodge Before they have learned to know 
 these by experience, they are usually long since "converted" to 
 them. Is it, however, right fcr a Christian first to join and then 
 to examine? .First to transgress the word of God and enter into 
 
175 
 
 fellowship with unbelievers, and then to 'see and examine whether 
 there is any-thing "evil" done there? No, assuredly not! Be 
 fore we join a society and form a "brotherly alliance" with its 
 members we must first examine their doctrine by the only correct 
 standard, the sacred Scriptures. And whoever does so in good 
 earnest, will, by the grace of God, be preserved from the poison of 
 the doctrines of the lodge ; and these doctrines are, God be prais- 
 ed, manifest, and no Christian can with a good conscience, promise 
 obedience and secrecy, before he knows what will be required of 
 him ; but every one who is admitted, must do so. 
 
 The lodge, with its blasphemous doctrine, is a pestilence that 
 walketh in darkness, a destruction that wasteth at noon-day. It 
 is our ardent desire to help guard against it, and if any-one 
 should have been captivated through ignorance, to assist him to 
 come to the knowledge of the evil, this is our aim to which pure 
 love compels us. To this end these lines were written. May it 
 please the Lord to bless them to the souls of many ! 
 
 UT TY 
 
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