LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 1962, Page 34

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34 DOCTRINAL-DEVOTIONAL ESSAYS

a number of issues, represents a dialog between two
laymen, one a member of a secret society though a con-
fessing Christian, the other strongly opposed to mem-
bership in secret societies.

The article is entitled “May a Christian Join the
So-called Secret Societies?” Most of the discussion re-
volves around the “works of love” of the members of
the secret orders. The lodge member praises his society
as being rich in works of love and criticizes the churches
for neglecting the care of the poor and needy. His
opponent charges the lodges with blowing the trumpets
to call attention to their works of love, which are
nevertheless not true works of love, because they are
limited to fellow lodge members who have not neglected
to pay their dues. Later in the article this same oppo-
nent of membership in secret societies tries to persuade
his opponent that the worship of the lodges is idolatrous.

The first major reference to our subject in a synod-
ical report is found in the Proceedings of the Seventh
Synodical Convention, held at Cleveland in the year
1853, therefore but six years after the organization of
the Synod. On page 270 of the Proceedings of this con-
vention we read under the heading “Secret Societies”:

“Synod is grieved to see that many Christians in this
country have found their way into secret societies . . .
and that more are continually being drawn into them.
The Word of God is clearly against this.”

The report then quotes passages against (a) the
secrecy of the lodges; (b) the fellowship with non-
Christians; (c) the antibiblical oath; (d) the worship
of the secret societies, which is branded idolatrous;
‘(e) the charity, falsely so called. The reference closes
with the following paragraph, which certainly indicates
an incipient policy with respect to secret societies:

“These doctrines of the Word of God, to which many
more could be added, show that anyone who joins... .
a secret lodge . . . regardless of whether he attends
the regular meetings or not, denies God, our blessed
Savior, and tramples the Word of God under foot.
Therefore the Synod warns all her members and all
Christians in general, particularly also our newly im-
migrated brethren in the faith, against these secret
societies and assumes as self-understood that in our
Christian congregations church discipline will be in-
stituted according to Matt.18 against those who are
found to be members of secret societies. At the same
time the Synod earnestly asks all her members and
Christian congregations in general to take steps to in-
stitute Christian care for the needy and sick according
to the example of the ancient church, in order to make
it easier for their members to carry on the struggle
against the rapidly spreading deception of the secret
societies.”

The difficulties of the Synod with this matter and her
continuing concern with it are highlighted by a case
described in the Synodical Proceedings of 1863, pp. 60 ff.
One of the synodical Districts had laid a troublesome
case before the Synod. The account is superscribed:
“Reception of Congregations Which Have Not Yet
Cleansed Themselves of Lodge Members.”

The question asked of the Synod by a District of
the Synod is whether a congregation, one third of whose
members are lodge members, can be received as a mem-
ber congregation by the Synod. This particular con-
gregation had passed a resolution to receive no more
lodge members and to allow no member of the con-
gregation to join a lodge. It had, however, become
necessary, not on account of willingness on the part
of the congregation to compromise with secret societies
but because the state of Christian knowledge in the
congregation was still on a low plane, to suspend these
resolutions for the time being. The question with which
the Synod was now faced was: Can such a congregation
be received into the Synod?

The discussion which ensued ‘on the floor of the
Synod, and the gist of which is reproduced in the
synodical report, indicates that there was a sharp dif-
ference of opinion among the delegates present.

The opinion on the one side is stated as follows:
“There is no doubt among us that secret societies are
a dreadful cancer of our time, and that the work of
the church suffers under it. Our Synod has always
considered it her duty to oppose this evil earnestly,
energetically, and courageously. But the correct way
to oppose this evil is not that we exclude from synodical
membership every congregation in which this evil has
not yet been overcome; it is rather to be feared that the
effect of such a procedure will be that people who have
been deceived will be hardened — will be driven from
us entirely, and that the influence of the church on such
people will be hindered completely. ... It is a fact...
that many weak and poorly instructed Christians do
not easily see the harm of membership in secret so-
cieties. How are they to learn it unless we draw them
into the circle of our influence? If such a congregation
does not openly speak and act against the confession
of the church, Synod has a sacred duty not to thrust
them away but to help the pastor to fight the evil.
But it is self-evident that a pastor who is too ignorant
to see the wrong and is himself a lodge member cannot
be received by Synod. ... It is different with laymen —
that they still belong to such societies does not auto-
matically stamp them children of the devil. True, they
must be told: You are deceived by Satan. Yet it must
be admitted: You may still be children of God... .”

One delegate who admitted that he had at one time
been very rigorous in this matter, stated that he had
learned that the more a person’s mind is enlightened by
Christian knowledge, the easier it becomes to convince
him to sever his connections with the lodge.

One who had himself been a lodge member but had
left the lodge said: “Let the District tell this congrega-
tion: We receive you, but knowing your situation with
respect to the lodge we remind you of Synod’s stand
and express the hope that you will do away with this
abomination.”

The matter was debated at great length, the one
side advocating a very evangelical approach to the lodge
member, the other demanding sterner procedure. The
Synod realized that here was a disagreement which it