I agree ortho.

There is no doubt that during certain times it was necessary to talk about many religious and philosophical topics in secret, unless you had a strong desire to be burned at the stake. I personally have no doubt that secret societies were not all malevolent at heart. In fact it seems that the majority of these societies had good intentions... the rosicrucians especially. If anything these secret societies underestimated the power and intelligence of their adversaries, how they infiltrate in silence by befriending and gaining complete trust. Whoever this evil force is, they can turn anybody or any movement into dust the moment they drop their guard... even if just for a second.
Today though... secret societies are no longer needed and the ones that do exist seem to all be quite evil in nature, as good seems to be the ruler now, so evil has to hide, unlike a few centuries past.