It is very obvious that the Freemason fraternity is the subject of many conspiracy theories. My question to the ATS community is how come conspiracies concerning the Oddfellows don't exist, at least on this board. Like Freemasonry they have degrees, rituals, esoteric knowledge, and a philanthropic front. Why is it this groups seems to operate under that radar of conspiracy nuts?

Id like to note, that I am in full support of both organisations and believe that they do nothing except mold great men, help the community, and spark further spiritual enlightenment.

I would just like to offer a discussion about a secret society other than the A&AFM, and see if any of you ATSers have any knowledge of the Oddfellows.

[edit on 28-9-2006 by rotarychris7]

To be honest, I have never heard of them.Who are they?

i have heard plenty about them.

here in michigan you will only find IOOF temples in cities such as Ludington, or Manistee. But these temple are usually very empty. the international order of odd fellows is almost extinct here in michigan and similer in PA. Those are the only facts i know about them.

It's my understanding that they took a serious hit when all the societies took a dive in the recent 30 years or so.

There actually was a recent thread mentioning a bit about the group. I believe the symbol posted that was in question was an owl. And do they use the motto "We never sleep"?

I will look for that thread.

Originally posted by interestedalways
There actually was a recent thread mentioning a bit about the group. I believe the symbol posted that was in question was an owl. And do they use the motto "We never sleep"?

I will look for that thread.

The owl with the "We Never Sleep" motto is a symbol of A.M.O.S. (the Ancient Mystic Order of Samaritans) which is a "fun" degree controlled by the Independent Order of Odd Fellows (I.O.O.F.) but not the emblem of the Lodge itself. A.M.O.S. members wear fezzes and have titles similar to the Masonic "Shriners"

That last website is amazing as far as rituals. I have never seen such a collection. Thanks for the source

I have been searching as well, and yet I have seen no OF conspiracies.

I am actually quite surprised that they are not accused of controlling government at various levels as other societes are.

Originally posted by SpeakerofTruth
Sounds like an offshoot of the Freemasons to me.

My grandfater was an Odd Fellow (member) , but was not a freemason.
My uncle (his son) was a freemason but never an OF. I my town I know of nobody belonging to both fraternitys. I don't believe they are any more connected to the Freemasons than the Kinsmen or Lions.

Cheers,
kid

So how would one know if he were right for the Odd Fellows group? Does one have to meet a certain criteria? Are there lodges working near everyone?

Originally posted by Burnt Offering
So how would one know if he were right for the Odd Fellows group? Does one have to meet a certain criteria? Are there lodges working near everyone?

The requirements for membership in Oddfellowship are the same as for Masonry: adult male, good morals, and belief in the existence of a Supreme Being.

Oddfellows are not a Masonic order, but its founders were Masons. Some famous people who have been both Masons and Oddfellows are Harry Truman, Red Skelton, Burl Ives, and Albert Pike.

“Who controls the British crown?
Who keeps the metric system down?
We do! We do!
Who leaves Atlantis off the maps?
Who keeps the Martians under wraps?
We do! We do!
Who holds back the electric car?
Who makes Steve Guttenberg a star?
We do! We do!
Who robs the cave fish of their sight?
Who rigs every Oscar night?
We do! We do!”

quote; "The Simpsons" Stonecutters

I find the entire concept of "secret societies" laughable. In my mind, I believe that these secret societies were nothing more than groups of people, linked by a common occupation, peer group or caste, coming together under the concept that united they were stronger.

Initially, groups such as the masons were probably nothing more than the forerunner of trade unions. The secrets that they held were probably "tricks of the trade". You know, how to build an arch, how to split stones, how to use geometry in determining angles. Of course, it was also to their advantage, as a group, to allude to even greater secrets; secrets of the meaning of life or eternal life -- any great mystery. This would give these groups even greater power. Of course the real secret that these groups held was the fact there was no deep secret at all! It would be similar to North Korea stating that they already had a nuclear weapon. Whether they actually had the bomb was immaterial. As long as everyone else thinks that North Korea has the bomb -- and that no one is able to prove or disprove this assertion -- then North Korea derives power and/or a bargaining position. After all, who could take the chance that they don't have a nuclear capability?

The same holds true for secret societies. The illusion of some great forbidden knowledge can be used as fact and that fact (true or not) can give a group such as the mason's power. If anything, the real power of the masons is their unity and their doctrine of mutual assistance.

In my hometown of Lynchburg, Va, there is a street named after them. It's called Oddfellows Road. I grew up there and never knew anything about them. I always thought it was an 'odd' name for a road.

I think that the oddfellows tend to fly under the conspiracy radar for the same reason that the elks and lions clubs do, because they post-date masonry, and are largely seen as harmless because of their small numbers. Masonry also has a strong association with the royal houses in europe (which is paradoxical in a sense, because masonry ultimately weakened many of those houses).

I suspect that people will tend to bundle up any conspiracy theory involving other secret societies into a larger Masonic conspiracy, since many of the other secret societies out there were started by masons or are heavily modeled on masonry (like the order of the buffalo

I get the general feel that Freemasonry is the main society in many towns. Where are some places that the OFs are the largest and most influential fraternity. If you find those towns you can start to build evidence of conspiracy. If one even exists.

Originally posted by Nygdan
I think that the oddfellows tend to fly under the conspiracy radar for the same reason that the elks and lions clubs do, because they post-date masonry, and are largely seen as harmless because of their small numbers. Masonry also has a strong association with the royal houses in europe (which is paradoxical in a sense, because masonry ultimately weakened many of those houses).

The Elks and Lions club conspiracy? Every Elks' club I have ever been to amounted to a bar where 3/4 of the people were three sheets to the wind. Yeah, great conspiracists.

Well the Oddfellows are such odd fellows that anything said about them must be true. ATS is only for theories not facts...

Anyway my closest neightbour building is Odd Fellow. All the members seems to be old people so I guess it is a dying sect. But still they must be rich as their building is as big as this block I live in. Seems harmless enough, but then what do you expect of people in their 60's or 70's?

As my name is Odd I should perhaps be a member, but I rather start my own club named The Odd One or something like that...

This is funny. I love how people who arent either mason or ioof try to make up conspiracy theories about what goes on behind the closed doors of the lodges. I am an Oddfellow. I love the organization and what it stands for. I am sure masons feel the same about their lodges. To each his own. We are given one life make the most of it. I am the youngest in my lodge. I am twenty eight. It wasnt hard to join. If you are joining for some kind of notoriety you have missed the boat. If my church did more in the community i probably wouldnt have joined. I want to help others however i can. This group the oddfellows helps me reach people who are really in need of it. Do I think you have to be one to do this NO. Are these groups going to be biased to non members? Probably. The reason for this is as a fraternity we are held to a higher standard by our brothers. If we were not of sound character we couldnt be one. That is the reason nothing more nothing less.

The Masonic Lodge I belong to actually rents our lodge space from the local Odd Fellows Lodge, its quite the building. The Odd Fellows in my town are all quite old and in fact the youngest member of the lodge is 62 (that not being quite old I understand) but they are in desperate need for younger members.

Many of their members are in their upper 80's and many are quite ill and no new members are in their future I'm afraid. It looks like their lodge, like many others is dying.

Interestingly, many of members of the Odd Fellows Lodge do not want new members, they just want the lodge to stay status quo and although our Masonic Lodge is growing and flourishing, they are slowly fading away.

I think that although Masonry has had the ups and downs of a wild EKG, recent publicity from TV, the press, etc., has helped sustain it and may be helping us grow, unfortunately groups like the Odd Fellows, and the Rebekahs are disappering because frankly no one knows they are there.

[edit on 10/11/2007 by woodwhite]