THE TORCH OF REASON, SILVERTON, OREGON. THURSDAY, JANUARY
Jeh ovah ’s Prom ise to Israel.
I I give this lan d .” (C an aan ) Three
years elapse.
Gen 13:14 16 “ Lift
[Them who by faith and patience in ­
up now’ thine eves and look from
h e rit th e prom ises. H eh. VI-12]
For the T orch of R eason :— In the place w here thou a rt, northw ard
th is age of reason, to blindly accept an d southw ard and eastw ard and
any person’s assertions w ithout due westward for all the land which thou
investigation is to court confusion seest to thee, will I give it, and to
and retard if not pervert the cause thy seed for ever. And I will m ake
of tra tb . If the book called the thy seed as ¡he dust of the e s ’tbi.
H oly Bible be the word of the so th at if a m an can num ber the
divine creator ami perpetuator of dust of the earth , then shall thv •>
th is universe, it is the plain duty 1 seed also he num bered.-’ Four years
of all reasoning hum an beings to later 1913 B. C. Gen. 15-5 “ Look
now toward heaven and tell the stars
satisfy them selves of th at fact.
We have schools of learning if thou he able to num ber them , and
alm ost w ithout num ber,
which he said unto him , so shall thy
delve into the intricacies and m ys­ seed be.
Now’ to one brought up to believe
teries of G od’s works as expressed
to us in n ature, and men have in a personal God and a chosen
lived who devoted their lifes to people,there is nothing inconsistent
the reveal ami explanationtion in the story as told so far, but to a
world, of some of the hidden won­ reasonable believer, th e following
ders of n atu re; we say this is right. certainly seems queer: (verse 13)
E ducate the young, th a t the world “ Know of a surety th a t th y seed
m ay know more of the great book shall be a stranger in a land that
is not theirs and shall serve them ;
of nature.
W hy then, in reading the bible, and they shall afflict them four
when we see one in hum an a ttr i­ hundred years.” (verse 18) “ In the
bute ascribed to God, and honestly sam e day the Lord m ade a cove­
doubt it, should we not candidly n a n t with A bram , saying, Unto
investigate this so-called word of th y seed have I given this land
from the river of Egypt unto the
God.
It is our reasonable du ty to great riv e r,th e river E u p rh a te s etc.
T hus far no conditions are re­
prove all things, retain the true
aud reject the false. M any, no quire«! of Abram. It seems to be an
doubt will say, “ W hy should I in ­ unconditional promise, repeated at
vestigate, when so m any good and intervals for eight years (1921-1913),
educated people, accept, believe but in 1898 B. ('., as recorded in
and teach the divinity of the bible?” Gen. 17:1-22 and twent v-thfee
Prue, this is an easy way in which y ears after the first promise, the
to dispose of this m atter, but is it a Lord makes circumcision the cove­
reasonable or even a ju s t way? n an t “ between me and you, and
We all know it to be a deplorable thy seed after thee.” (verse 10)
The famous test of A biaharn’s
fact, th a t educated people are not
all learned. Among the m u lti­ faith as recorded in Gen. 22 where­
tudes of college graduates, few in is stated th a t God com m ands
are fitted for original th in k ­ A braham to “ take now thy son,
ing, and to fall in with estab­ th in e only son Isaac, whom thou Inv­
lished custom s and the usages of est, and get thee into the land of
the age is generally the quickest Mori all, and offer him there for a
and best way to affluence and ease. burnt offering upon one of the
Especially is th is tru e of the m ountains which 1 will tell thee
A b rah am ’s willingness io
clergy; schooled in linguistic lore, of.”
they accept w ithout question, the he guilty of such an outrageous
established order of things, as tau g h t violation of all p aren tal affection
in their different schools of divinity brands him as unw orthy of the
and we have the ridiculous anom aly nam e of father. T h a t a righteous
of college-bred people, declaring a u ­ an d upright m an should lie (verse
thority for tru th , instead of tru th 5) and deal treacherously w ith,bind
and m ake ready to butcher bis
for authority.
W ith these few introductory re­ only son, is just about at par with
m arks we now’ wish to inquire into the idea of a loving heavenly
the foundation of the religion of the father com m anding such a thing.
Jews, viz, Jeh o v a h ’s promises to To believe this part o f the bible to
be divine is asking too much of poor
Israel.
According to the accepted c h ro n ­ frail hum anity, if this is the eter­
ology of the bible, about 1921 B. C. nal, unchangeable God’s dealings
as recorded in Genesis 12:1-3 “ Now with m ankind, from such a God
.he Lord God had said unto A bram , may we all be delivered.
In the vear 1706 B. C. occurred
Get thee o u t out of thy country aud
from thv kindred, and from thy the em igration of the children of
From being
fath e r’s house, unto a land th a t I Israel to Egypt.
the
favored
guests of
will shew thee; and I will make of first
I
the
Egyptians,
they
in course
ih e e a great nation, aud I v» ill bless
thee, aud m ake thy nam e great, of time become slaves of th at peo­
and thou sh alt be a blessing, and I ple; but in 1491 (E x. 13:4) they
will bless them th a t bless thee, and came forth out of bondage, leaving
curse him th a t curseth thee: and in but 215 years as the tim e of their
thee shall all families of the earth be residence in Egypt, yet Gen. 15:13
blessed.” (ver 7) “ Unto thv seed w ill, states that God said th at 400 years
7, 1897.
should th ey be afflicted by the
One more promise recorded in
strange people, etc.
“ holy w rit-’ we w ish to notice before
God also said the Isiaelitesshonld closing, see Gen’. 8:21, “ The Lord
he unnum bered for m ultitude, yet said ‘Neither will I again smite
according t o their liistorv, correct any more every thing living, as I
census of th e in h ab itan ts were a l­ have done.’ ” Yet later Zephaniah
ways procurable, even in the most records “ I will u tterly consume all
prosperous periods of Ju d aism , ami things from off the land saith the
! W'*< ci tie . i.o 11»-
.«i.J
o ’iuo’ o v n or r-vjc-. ♦rt-.’.v;
the river Egypt to the Euphrates. beast—the fowls of the heaven
The prom ise God m ade to the and the fishes of tin* sea— and I will
Jews he never fulfilled, and their ¡cut off m an from off the la n d .”
liistorv from the time they lied to, How intelligent people can believe
ami stole the borrowed articles of and teach the divinity of such stuff
the E gyptians (E x. 3:18-22 and is almost past comprehension, and
12:35-36) until the extinction of the how an intelligent people can justify
Jewish nation was one of rapine, the expenditure of m illions of dol­
bloodshed and war.
lars an n u ally in order to propogate
We believe we have correctly ami this divinity idea is equally inex­
completely quoted the scriptures plicable. There is less wonder at
concerning the promises to Is­ the growth of crim e am i suffering
rael, ami the records of history and hum an w ant, when we consider
make plain to us, how little of d i­ the vast am ount of money, time and
vinity there could possibly be in energy wasted upon the “ thus saith
T homas S mith .
connection with the foundation of the L ord” idea.
the Jew ish nation.
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