CHAPTER VII.

RELATIONS TO THE CHURCH.
I love thy church, O God !
Her walls before thee stand, Dear as the apple of thine eye,
And graven on thy hand.
— President D wight.
The church is the institution divinely ordained for establishing the kingdom of God in the hearts of men. It is in relation to this kingdom that morality has its true meaning and value; and the most important question connected with the societies is their relation to the spiritual church of God, and to the visible church which is its outward expression.
Although the church is the true teacher of morality, yet the societies might supplement her efforts by their labors in teaching morality, as many other institutions do practically, if not purposely ; but as a matter of fact their secret and exclusive character unfits them for any such office, while they tend to substitute a lower and partial morality, in which the human element predominates, for that higher law which has di- vine authority; thus taking the place of the church.
The trouble here is much more serious when these organizations are viewed as religious, which many of them in some degree are. This is advanced as an argument in favor of some orders; but it actually is an argument against them, for it leads men to put them in place of
78 THE SECRET SOCIETY SYSTEM.
the church. In connection with city evangelistic work, a frequent experience of the author has been to have his invitation to meeting met with the reply, *^I go to the lodge," or, '' My husband belongs to two societies," as if that were quite sufficient. Now these societies can be of little real value as substitutes for the church. Includ- ing so many unconverted men, and men with every sort of belief, their general religious exer- cises must be of a very formal and elementary character; and though more special meetings are sometimes held, as prayer-meetings in the chapter houses in colleges, this is probably very exceptional. All church members, it is true, are not very devout ; but probably few evangelical churches compare with the societies as to the heterogeneous religious character of their membership. The latter therefore do harm to the church, by putting in its place institutions which have little or no real religion. Partly for this reason, partly because of the exclusive character of the societies, the use of the Scrip- tures and of religious ceremonies which they often make is impious. What is said of God's people they often apply to members of their own fraternity, leaving out the rest of us in a way which makes us doubtful whether to be in- dignant or amused. Speaking of a deceased member, they will allude to the '^ Great Com- mander " w^ho has called him to " a celestial convocation of the infinite chapter," as though the Almighty were the head of their order, and heaven one of its chapters. The feelings of dis- gust which such sentiments inspire in other Christians are chargeable to the system, because they spring from its exclusive spirit. College
THE SECRET SOCIETY SYSTEM. 79
societies, however, are probably religious only to a limited degree, if at all.
The influence of secret societies upon inde- pendence of character has already been noticed. The importance of this quality in the constitu- tiron of the moral character can hardly be over- estimated. It is the keystone of the arch. It means loyalty to God and right rather than sub- servience to the opinions and customs of men, when these conflict. As such, it is one statement of the great comprehensive principle of obed- ience to God, which is the foundation of all Christian character. A large college teaches men how to live in communities with due regard to the opinions and rights of others ; but it must also teach that independence which is grand and manly because it is founded in principle and its trust is in God.
The spirit of a secret society is not the cath- olic spirit of Christianity. It belongs to the old partial and exclusive systems of heathenism, a great number of which were themselves secret societies, like the Egyptian religion, the myster- ies of Eleusis, and many parts of the Roman religion. So Lieber speaks of ''the importaiit fact that mysterious and secret societies belong to paganism rather than to Christianity." ^ When the vail of the temple was rent in twain, it signified that thenceforward the way into the holiest was freely open to all men everywhere, and that every man was himself to be a king and a priest unto God. This is the principle which is the foundation of modern civil and re- ligious liberty. It was the spring of the Refor-
^ Civil Liberty, p. 135.
8o THE SECRET SOCIETY SYSTEM.
mation ; it is the inspiration of republicanism. How essentially the secret society spirit is at war with these principles may be seen from its very nature, perhaps, but especially from the spirit of such religious sentiments as have been put forth by some of the fraternities. Compare their narrow and exclusive spirit and purpose with the free and universal invitations of the Gospel, with the spirit of the church of Christ, that great institution whose doors stand open day and night, and whose welcome is as wide as humanity.
The principal distinction between men in this world is that between the converted and the un- converted, those who are Christians and those who are not. It is imperative on all Christians to recognize this great truth and act accordingly. If the salt has lost its savor, it is worthless. The world respects a decided Christianity, and is won to conversion by it much sooner than by that which shows a compromising spirit. The world is at war with God, and in such a contest compromise is impossible. It can never be lifted up to Christianity by taking the latter down to its moral level, and the church of Christ will never be the power which it might be, in college or anywhere else, until it stands uncom- promisingly, without bigotry, indeed, but firmly, on the truth. Phillips Brooks gives the prin- ciple, though he probably would not make this application of it : ^' Fashionable society is neither intellectual nor spiritual ; * any man or woman must break its chains and refuse to be its slave, or it is impossible to come to the best culture either of mind or soul.*'^ A man must "put
^ The Candle of the Lord and other Sermons, p. 213.
THE SECRET SOCIETY SYSTEM. 8 1
aside the lower that the higher may come in to him." At a Christian convention in Chicago, Mr. Moody said, " Separate yourselves from the world and the things of the world. God wants his people separate. They will have ten thou- sand times more influence when separate from the world. It is separation, not compromise that we want. The cry ought to be raised all over this Western country, ' Sepaj^ation^ separa- tion !' But people will say. If you take that stand — lift yourselves so high — a great many of these men will leave the church. Never mind. If we should lose some church members we shall gain many that are better men. Hundreds will come in and take their places. There should be no compromise." Dr. T. L. Cuyler said, in a late issue of the New York Independcfit^ ^ " Christ's followers never will save the world by secularizing itself or surrendering its strict principles of loyalty to whatever is right and pure and holy. Conformity to the world will never convert it. ' Come out and be ye sepa- rate,' saith the Lord, "and touch no unclean thing.' * * Conformity to the world is weakening the backbone of the Church, and thus far dimin- ishing its power to lift the world up toward God. 'If thou wouldst pull a man out of a pit,' said quaint old Philip Henry, * thou must have a good foothold, or else he will pull thee in.' "
Paul gives the same principle, in a different connection, *' Be ye not unequally yoked to- gether with unbelievers; for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness ?
^ New York Independent, June i, 1882.
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And what 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, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty." ^ And our Lord says of his servants, ^' They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world." ^
This truth has particular application on •doubtful questions. It is the little foxes that destroy the vines, and the loss of character often begins in giving the inclination the benefit of the doubt. Mr. Moody's rule is the precise opposite, " Give your conscience the benefit of the doubt; even if you are mistaken, the Lord will bless you just the same." With the modi- fication that the doubt must be a reasonable and well-established one, and not a mere whim or eccentricity, I believe this to be the true rule, w^hose adoption would save many a Christian from serious or fatal embarrassment, and make him a power for good.
What is meant by this teaching, however, must not be confounded with an ascetic or monastic view of life. It is to be noticed that nearly all those quoted above are men of a vig- orous, aggressive type of piety, men of hearty whole-souled life, men, not of this world, who yet take a strong hold of things in it. It has been ordained that Christians are to be mingled with those who are not Christians in many of
^ II Corinthians, VI : 14-18. 2 John XVII: 16.
THE SECRET SOCIETY SYSTEM. S^
the relations and concerns of life. Such asso- ciation develops Christian character, by trial of it, and is also the means whereby the leaven of Christianity is to work in society. The only question is where such association involves com- promise. Whether these principles exclude Christians from secret societies or not, every man must decide for himself, in his right of pri- vate judgment. My own opinion is that in most cases they do. The objection here to a secret society is that it involves a man as organizations for a definite object, like societies for political reform, for instance, do not. It somehow lays claim to the whole personality, and creates too close intimacies between persons of opposite moral or religious character. In college socie- ties this does some good, but more harm ; though some men gain, others lose, and often much more than enough to balance the first. This is one great false principle in the society theory; the leading religious and moral men in associations doubtful or more than doubtful, closely bound up with men whose moral char- acter is simply poison. Incalculable mischief is often worked thus in college; the religious leaders are so embarrassed that they do not lead, and so no progress is made against the common enemy, or there is a retreat. A college Presi- dent says, '^ In some few instances, which have come to our knowledge, a restraining moral in- fluence has been exerted over young men who were inclined to dissipation by their more serious or religious associates in these societies, but we fear that the effect is oftener to lower the tone of religious character in the pious young men be-
84 THE SECRET SOCIETY SYSTEM.
longing to them."^ Another President, "The literary and religious effect bad ; the moral effect equivocal — on good boys rather injurious — on bad boys rather beneficial. Membership lowers the tone of piety generally." A third, " The alienation of feeling and want of cordiality thus created are not favorable to a right moral and religious state."
There is a certain something about the society allegiance which seems to conflict with loyalty to the church ; and the Catholic church shows a true instinct on this point, as she does on many others, by forbidding her members to join any secret order without the church. Why this conflict should exist is not always clear; cer- tainly there is nothing of the kind about mem- bership of a literary society, for instance. One reason for this may be found in the peculiar claim of the society to the whole personality of its members. The wearing of a badge signifies much more that membership of any other organ- ization does. The society makes the same com- prehensive claim which the church or the state or the family does; a claim which has no such foundation in nature, and therefore operates to supplant the others.
Another reason for this may be found in the usual oaths, invoking the Deity to sanction obli- gations which are extra-judicial, and which unite Christians with unconverted men in a bond which is at least of doubtful character. Special objections also grow out of this, because the candidate may often be sworn to things which he does not approve of; or to vows of fraternal feeling which he cannot or will not try to keep.
^ Hitchcock's Reminiscences of Amherst College, p. 323.
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The societies often interfere with the practical workings of the church. They divide the mem- bers, in precisely the same way, and for the same reasons, as they divide the citizens of a state. A case once came to the writer's knowledge, of a man's refusing to join a certain church because he believed it to be run by a secret society. Church conferences are also sometimes believed to be controlled in the same way, and ministers are supposed to get or lose their positions be- cause of society affiliations or antagonisms. How harmful all this is, not to the uniformity, which is not required, but to the real unity of the church, which is, needs no explanation. Here again, though political dissensions often work like serious results, yet with the societies there is danger of specially objectionable fea- tures of permanent jealousy and suspicion.
Reasons for this will perhaps appear more clearly if the formation of a secret society be imagined. Suppose the members of a church living in harmony and mutual affection, and then imagine the formation of a secret society among them. Is it not clear that such a change would be hostile to the spirit which had hitherto united them .^ Much forbearance would doubt- less be exercised; but it is not altogether prob- able that feelings of bitterness and jealousy would arise 1 Of course few churches have reached a very perfect state of harmony; but in order to be approaching it they must keep ob- stacles out of the way, as far as possible. Some approach to it is almost necessary for any vig- orous Christian life and work.
With college class societies, the divisive in- fluence is especially felt. It operates very
S6 THE SECRET SOCIETY SYSTEM.
Strongly to prevent that union among the Chris-- tian men in the different classes which is neces-^ sary for the best progress in Christian life and work. The reasons of this separation and its actual workings are the same in this sphere as they are in social and other relations already considered.
The course of the discussion thus far has shown that the secrecy and exclusiveness of the societies are serious objections to them, on social grounds, while the friendly and social relations of college life do not require them ; that they destroy the college literary so- cieties, taking only a small part of their place, and do not, on the whole, exert a wholesome intellectual influence; that their political influ- ence is pernicious; that they are essentially aristocracies ; and that they are generally hurt- ful both to morality and to the church.