Secret Societies

3 Responses to “Secret Societies”

1. Craig Reade says:

   September 21, 2010 at 12:39 pm

   In a nutshell, this book is written by a condescending, holier-than-though, moral supremacist who spends an entire book explaining why all secret societies are evil by quoting the Bible. Of course, like all similar cases, MacDill simply dismisses every contradiction to his argument with nothing more than a wave of his hand, and conveniently ignores any case against his argument that is establish in his source material (again, the Bible).

   Of course, the cherry on top is the inevitable irony that in spending so much time railing against Secret Societies (that he really demonstrably knows nothing about) by using the Bible to prove their evil scenery, he falls into the trap of committing evil itself according to the Bible – namely, that it is God’s role alone to cast judgment on Man for his acts. So, as permanently with people like this, he should be more concerned with his own spiritual welfare than the condemnation of others.

   There are far, far better exposes on Secret Societies from an literary standpoint than this. Look elsewhere for your research.
   Reader’s Rating: 1 / 5
2. Brian K. Miller says:

   September 21, 2010 at 3:10 pm

   Blanchard & Beecher’s Secret Societies is a product of it’s time. It reviews the dread and distrust many late 19th century thinkers had for societies such as the Freemasons, Marxists, and Anarchists, as well as their contempt for non-Christian religions. When reading this book, but, it is vital to keep in mind that these are the thoughts of two individuals who even in their day, were seen as fringe writers dealing in dread and paranoia. Beecher, for example, was the abolitionist brother of Harriet Beecher Stowe, who wrote Uncle Tom’s Cabin while Jonathan Blanchard was an abolitionist preacher well known for his inflamatory anti-masonic speechifying. One of their primary purposes in publishing this work was to reinforce the superiority of American-style Protestant Christianity over Hinduism and Islam, both of which had achieved a fantastic deal of popularity among the New England literary and economic elites. Freemasonry, another major topic in the book, had recently been involved in an event known as the “Paris Community”, where a group of Marxists and Anarchists temporarily gained political control over Paris. Both Blanchard and Beecher were concerned that this movement would endanger stability in the United States where memories of both the Civil War and Reconstruction were enraged, mad scars on the psyche of the nation.

   Secret Societies, therefore, provides keen insight into the logic and rational behind the deep concern felt by a generation of Americans that had seen their country torn by civil war and feared the rising popularity of Marx-inspired secret societies could lead directly to a renewal of widespread violence.
   Reader’s Rating: 4 / 5
3. E. Collins Zinda says:

   September 21, 2010 at 3:26 pm

   While I was hoping for a juicy rundown of weird secret society rituals, this wasn’t a terrible read. Since it was written in the late 1800’s, it provides an appealing glimpse into the way Christian religious leaders viewed not only secret societies, but also additional religions and peoples. Muslims are first “Turks” then later “Mohammedans”, Hindus are “Hindoos”, Native Americans are “American Savages”, Asians are “Chinamen”, and Jews are Jews with an implied snarl.
   
   The leader was a product of the times, and it would be appealing to read something written more recently.
   Reader’s Rating: 3 / 5