Student societies in higher education. "The Supreme Court of the State of Missouri has made the decision in the appeal brought by Waldemar R. Wright against the St. Louis City Department of Education that students who belong to student societies therefore in no way may be disciplined. The son of the plaintiff, Roy Thomas Wright, a graduate of the Soldan High School, was a member of Delta Sigma society. In December 1920, the school board decided to ban student participation in such societies because studies are thereby neglected and the moral attitude of the students would be affected. Circuit Judge Killoren had decided that the educational authority had the right to make such a regulation, and Wright had appealed for the sake of his son to the High Court. This Court has now overturned the decision of the district court and declared with a 6-1 vote that the students cannot be forbade to belong as members to such societies." This decision is not strange considering that student societies are not more harmful for schools than sworn secret societies like the Freemasons for the State. F.P.Pieper's sarcasm! Freemasons and all secret societies are not only enemies of Christianity, but also enemies of the State. So also fraternities, sororities and all student societies which are patterned after Freemasonry and are enemies of true education and its institutions. Even unbelievers know of the shady background of secret societies.
You Missouri, your Supreme Court had sympathizers for the secret societies among its members. It is not unlikely that you still do since Freemasonry and other secret societies (F.O.P., etc) are so entrenched in government and police offices. They are in Indiana. I wonder who was that 1 dissenting vote in 1920... You should now honor Circuit Judge Killoren for his wise judgment.
And you, Valparaiso University, who calls itself "Lutheran" and "Christian", you and your Greek life! I know of how your Greek life has caused untold misery!
How do you know it was sarcasm?
ReplyDeleteInteresting posture in the photo in the article: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/justandsinner/the-doctrine-of-divine-simplicity-and-contemporary-law-gospel-debates/
Mr. Vega:
DeleteA review of my label “Secret Societies” mostly answers your question. I could probably find dozens of other references to warnings against lodges and secret societies. But these are sufficient. This blog hardly does justice in presenting old Missouri’s vigorous stand against anti-Christian secret societies and lodges. In all cases, secret societies/lodges are anti-Christian in that they promote a works doctrine and fight against the Gospel. Even other societies tend to pattern themselves after these secret societies – I can think of 4-H as one example. I know this first hand. And within the Lutheran Church in America, another example is the much publicized controversy over the Boy Scouts.
And as far as so-called “Greek societies” for students and others like them? I can testify first hand that they caused great misery for a family of a student at Valparaiso University.