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Oar Christian doctrine , teaches , that by the commandment , " Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain , " Arc forbidden . "Allfalse , rash , and unnecessary oaths breaking of lawful oaths or vows , and making or keeping unlawful ones . " An oath is lawful . — " If lien God ' s honour , our ownor neighbour ' s good requires it . "
, Therefore the oath or affirmation of a Freemason , Odd Fellow , Rechabite ( Temperance ) , Ancient Druid , and the like , who swear to keep secret that of which they have no foreknowledge , and who are compelled to take an oath without previously knowing the import before admission , are deficient in those requisite attributes ; therefore rash and- immoral .
NOT SO , — Because oaths are sanctioned by scripture , and no council of the church has ever condemned the taking of an oath ; and there is no proof that Freemasons are compelled to take an oath ; for there are man y other secret societies to which members are bound by promise only , or by subscription to the rules and regulations . Because the tenor of the oath or affirmation attributed to Freemasons must be of the same import as that imposed member of her
upon every majesty ' s privy council , secret committees of the houses of parliament , ancl courts martial ; those required at the Bank of England and East India House , binding parties to keep secret whatever may be brought before them IN FUTURE in their respective capacities ; freemen of municipal corporations , and the like ; and apprentices , ivho are sometimes bound by oath to keep their masters' secrets ; also directors ancl members of commercial unions and associations are sworn to secrecy of the future
, of ivhich they have no foreknowledge , and without previously knowing tlie import of those oaths . Such oaths being deemed in strict accordance with Christian morals , so must be those of a Freemason , ancl the like . Because between them there is no distinction in effect , the only difference being , that one is a judicial oath , imposed by the laws , and
compulsory , the other is extra judicial , not forbidden by the laws , sanctioned by the custom of ages , by millions of the great and good from time immemorial , bishops and clergymen innumerable , never compulsory , and always voluntary ; therefore in strict accordance with the laws of Christian morality . Because every candidate is obliged to submit to a rigorous examination , and full y instructed upon the serious nature of his obligations previous to admissiontherefore in perfect accordance with the laws of
, good morals . Because the oaths attributed to Freemasons are said to be found in books , though saicl to be published without authority , therefore cannot be said to be hidden , or not foreknown , in accordance with the laws of good morals . Because the previous knowledge ancl import ( alone ) of an oath does not constitute the act a moral oneivhich otherwise be immoral
, may ; nor does the extrajudicial character ( alone ) make that immoral which mi ght be in other respects moral , any more than that the judicial character ( alone ) of an oath would cause that to be a moral act which might be otherwise immoral . This has been proved by the numbers who suffered death in . the reigns of Henry VIII . and his successors , for
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Rejected Letters.*
Oar Christian doctrine , teaches , that by the commandment , " Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain , " Arc forbidden . "Allfalse , rash , and unnecessary oaths breaking of lawful oaths or vows , and making or keeping unlawful ones . " An oath is lawful . — " If lien God ' s honour , our ownor neighbour ' s good requires it . "
, Therefore the oath or affirmation of a Freemason , Odd Fellow , Rechabite ( Temperance ) , Ancient Druid , and the like , who swear to keep secret that of which they have no foreknowledge , and who are compelled to take an oath without previously knowing the import before admission , are deficient in those requisite attributes ; therefore rash and- immoral .
NOT SO , — Because oaths are sanctioned by scripture , and no council of the church has ever condemned the taking of an oath ; and there is no proof that Freemasons are compelled to take an oath ; for there are man y other secret societies to which members are bound by promise only , or by subscription to the rules and regulations . Because the tenor of the oath or affirmation attributed to Freemasons must be of the same import as that imposed member of her
upon every majesty ' s privy council , secret committees of the houses of parliament , ancl courts martial ; those required at the Bank of England and East India House , binding parties to keep secret whatever may be brought before them IN FUTURE in their respective capacities ; freemen of municipal corporations , and the like ; and apprentices , ivho are sometimes bound by oath to keep their masters' secrets ; also directors ancl members of commercial unions and associations are sworn to secrecy of the future
, of ivhich they have no foreknowledge , and without previously knowing tlie import of those oaths . Such oaths being deemed in strict accordance with Christian morals , so must be those of a Freemason , ancl the like . Because between them there is no distinction in effect , the only difference being , that one is a judicial oath , imposed by the laws , and
compulsory , the other is extra judicial , not forbidden by the laws , sanctioned by the custom of ages , by millions of the great and good from time immemorial , bishops and clergymen innumerable , never compulsory , and always voluntary ; therefore in strict accordance with the laws of Christian morality . Because every candidate is obliged to submit to a rigorous examination , and full y instructed upon the serious nature of his obligations previous to admissiontherefore in perfect accordance with the laws of
, good morals . Because the oaths attributed to Freemasons are said to be found in books , though saicl to be published without authority , therefore cannot be said to be hidden , or not foreknown , in accordance with the laws of good morals . Because the previous knowledge ancl import ( alone ) of an oath does not constitute the act a moral oneivhich otherwise be immoral
, may ; nor does the extrajudicial character ( alone ) make that immoral which mi ght be in other respects moral , any more than that the judicial character ( alone ) of an oath would cause that to be a moral act which might be otherwise immoral . This has been proved by the numbers who suffered death in . the reigns of Henry VIII . and his successors , for