THE TORCH OF REASON, SILVERTON, OREGON, THURSDAY, JANUARY 14, 1 8 9 7 .
Angels.
tures m ust have been of a m aterial more discussion, more speculation,
F or the T orch oe R eason . W hat nature. In N um bers xxxii-28 we a n d the basis of more elaborate
are angels?
This question has read “ And the ass saw the angel of es>ays than all other» th a t interest
the Lord standing in the wav, and hum an thought.
never been satisfactorily answered.
q hTit the soul exists is alw ays
Angels I th in k exist only in the his sword draw n in his hand, and
Ik*
< tH;
asitl O(ii i ' . ' ; -.vay ’ assumed as a fundam ental proposi-
m aginations of men, 1 th in k each
W hether the angel of the Lord tion in all theologies. He is held a
in d ividual who believes in their ex
istence, pictures their shape, color, differs from any other kinds, I daring m an who disputes <»r raises
don’t know. But it is evident the a doubt upon the subject. It is so
and size in his own mind.
Angels are m entioned in the one th at troubled Balaam was a pleasing to the average m an to be
Scriptures . in ^ v eraT p laces’ b u t ™,hHr ^ " g 8™ 8 °"e, « » ^ l e of told th a t beyond th is world there
there is no com plete and system -
his sword, and m aking the is an o th er of shadow y forms, in
atic accounts of them . The belief aHS‘'trn aside. In the 32nd veree o f which lie la to reappear a t a u n it,
of the church respecting them ex- tl,« 8“ n>e ®1.....ter, is an account of in possession of all the faculties,
cept in a few points has never been ,h " Angel talk in g , proving th a t modes of thought, m ental qualities,
exactly defined.
It has alw ays “ had ,acdltle8 for " ‘a k '" g “ "'"C - and even the passions o f thia life,
been held th a t angels and hum an . _In 2nd K ings, Chap, xtx, verse th at he stan d s not on the tam e ex-
souls are distinct. Only Dlony- 3o> we read, “ and ,l came 1,1 Pasa a c tio n of proof. If a believer, he
sius, Areopagita and a few m odern th at n.ght th a t ll.o Angel of the is ever ready to vent ids w rath on
speculators have m ain tain ed the Cord went out, and sm ote In the the doubler. In th is fortress of
co n trary . Dionysius says there are cam P of the A ssyrians a bun- credulity im agination has full
nine orders o f'a n g e ls. W hether (lrei1 t" ur“c,”'‘’ and five th o u s a n d ;. p la y ; it is tl.e s.io n g h u ld of all the-
th ere are not sp irits superior to a " d when they arose early nt the ologles, the place of retreat when
men and angels, has been a dis-
behold they were
all hard pressed by reason.
puted point. As to the num ber of dead corP8e8-
N(,w, front a philosophical and
angels an d th eir nam es, the church
Som etim es it ’s consoling to some scientific point o f view, what evi-
repeatedly
o8e m
frie,7d9;
relaHves
del'«e exists
8xia|8 upon
upon tn this auhject? If
in the m iddle ages
repeatedly f e,,Id ‘\ w,; nose
en u s, or rem
uves deuce
checked the tendency to go beyond have died to tel1 them not to a ,nan liaH a 8old, U m ust be Home-
the usually received
accounts; a " '" rry al," u t it> as God has m ade ,lli"R planted by na
n atu re in the h u
R om ish Council, in
745 A. D., him or her, ids “ dear little angel ” m an organization at
nt the beginning
m entions w ith reprobation the use
W here is the m other who would of life, in the sam e or in a sim ilar
of the unwonted nam es of Uriel, like to have th eir little ones formed m an n er to m ind, w ith its specialized
Raguel, Simiel, etc. The nam es into a G atling gun angel with organs of action. We cannot con-
th a t have all alomr been in most a killing capacity of a hundred and ceive it as originating in nothing.
To he conceivable it m ust he som e
common use are Michael, G abriel
soldiers a m inute,
and R aphael.
W h at a surprise it must, have thing th a t has resided somewhere
The creation of angels was placed
h) the A ssyrians to find on in the hum an body, and been sub*
by the platonizing church fathers, w aking up, th at they, them selves ject to all laws and changes
th at
before th a t of the m aterial world. vvcre dead, having ad been slain by are included un d er the nam e oi
“ m en tality .” It cannot be m ind,
Other« assign it to some of the six an a n 8e^ °f the Lord,
days.
W hen Jesus was put in th e tom b for physiology has been able to de
The Second Synod of Nice (787 Joseph rolled a g reat stone to the term ine the conditions under which
A. D.) assigned them
subtle, d°or of the sepulchre, then there mind exists, th e force by which it
eth erial, or tire-like bodies. The ca,ne a hig earth q u ak e, for the is developed, an d w ithout which it
scholastics, on the other hand, and ^ nSel °f the Lord descended from could have no existence.
S iartin g
then with w hat is
the L ateran Council of 1215 A. I), heaven, an d came and rolled hack
m ain tain ed their im m ateriality , th e stone from the door, and sat known as the prim itive trace, or
while others, owing to the appear- upon it.” This probably is the sim ple cell, clothed w ith a power
ing of angels m entioned in script- Krpatest fete ever perform ed by an of m ultip ly in g ami grow ing upon
ure, attrib u ted to them the power an &e h M hen the keepers saw him itself, the soul, if it exists, must
of assum ing m om entarily the cor- they shook with fear “and be- in its tim e and order have passed
poral form.
cam e as dead m en.” For the an- through every phase of the hum an
The poet N onnus (lived in Egypt gel’s “countenance was like light- body previous to birth. These are
in the 5th cen tu ry ) is the first to uing, and his rainm ent w hite like all anim al types, a zoophyte, a
speak of angels’ wings, (see Cham - snow.”
polyp, a ru d im en tal fish, a reptile,
hers Encyclopedia, Art. Angels)
It *s no w onder they trem bled a bird, a m arsupial, a m am m al, not
Man has succeeded to som e extent with fear, m ost anybody would, to m ention other forms with differ-
All
in illu stra tin g
angels. Up to It has been several years since ent nervous organizations.
this tim e but two species have m et these terrible things have obstruc- these are essential steps to the
nay gaze.
ted our h ighw av sand killed our peo- birth of a child. W hat indications
F irst is a young lady angel P^e, a,,d its to he hoped they have of the presence of a soul can he
about 22 years of age, with a lovely
th e earth never more to re- m entioned while this process o fg ts-
face an d long waving hair while a tu rn .
tation has been going forw ard?
th o u san d y ards of m uslin entw ines
M e often h ear people use such
B irth introduces the babe to new
her lovely form, the ends of which expressions as “dear little angel ’ and essentially changed conditions,
are suspended gracefully in the air, “ pretty as an angel “ lovely as an M aternity has discharged its office,
as her swan like wings carry her on a ugel,’ “ harm less as an a n g e l’ the child now becomes an air-
her atm ospheric way. This species etc., hut after all, people don’t breather, dependent for life upon
of Angel I have nam ed the swan- waQt to he an angel until they the oxidizing of the blood, the con-
winged angel.
have failed at ev en thing else.
sum ption of carbon, which hence-
The second and last species that I
E. L. D avidson .
forth is the vital force of life. For
have seen Illu strated is a little hoy , f A M an Die s h a || He L , ve A gain? about one year, all actions are of a
about four years old, with ju st the
-■ - —
reflex kind. If m ind exists, it is
head visible. Sm all wings resem-
M ankind, from the infancy of the not active. The sensatory nerves
bling those of the sm all butterfly race, perceiving beyond doubt their soon begin to receive and record
or the codlin moth protrude ah- existence on ea rth , and that by impressions.
These, throughout
ru p tly from behind the ears. This death they soon disappear, have childhood and youth, are extrem ely
soecies I have nam ed the butteifly never ceased to wonder whether they vivid and lasting.
T he centen-
angel.
will live hereafter. The problem arian more easily recalls the events
The angels spoken of in scrip- involved has been the subject of of youth th a n of the preceding
hour. His m ind is failing. Pres
ent m ental im pressions have little
strength. T he store-house of mem
ory is nearly full. Out of m illions,
B, Ol J .........
thus stored away in voluntarily d u r
ing a long life in the m ind, it has a
m agazine upon which to exercise its
forces—to assort the item s, to
weigh, com pare, ponder, assim ilate
or reject, as an experienced reason
shall decide. This m ay he styled
the analysis of thought. But what
is thought, . save th e product of
force? W hence does th is force
originate, hut in th e consum ption
of carbon through the agency of
the lungs, and the nourishm ent of
the body at large? There can be
no thought w ithout the force th at
creates it. The brain is the seat
and center of this force, and the
union of all the forces constitute
the m ind. Phrenology proves th at
the brain is not a u nit, but is dis
tinctly apportioned into w hat m ay
be calh ‘d faculties, which
arc
duplicated in such a m anner th a t the
organs in one lobe m ay correct il
lusions in the other; so one m ay
dream , while the other is awake.
Nor is there any line or place
where physical force m ay he sep
arated from m ental force. No dif
ference exists except in the form of
m anifestation, and the organs em
ployed. All spring alike from one
source, and th a t is food supply or
com bustion.
W ith age and re
duced powers, m ind and body d e
cay u n til the force th a t sustains
them ceases to act, when nothing
rem ains but death. If the m ind is
the soul, how are we to conclude
th a t when force ceased, both did
not perish a t the sam e m om ent?
But force is im m ortal. All organic
things can die, but force cannot.
It will alw ays persist, as it alw ays
has persisted, w ithout dim inution
of potency. Death, therefore, is
the w ithdraw al of the forces which
before anim ated and sustained life.
And now the m ind or m ental
force being dead, w hat is left out of
the form er com bination which can
be called soul or sp irit? By what
reasoning process can we im agine
th a t out of a cessation of all laws
of life—out of nothing indeed—the
death of the m ind is the b irth of a
soul. W hat is it th a t leaves the
body? Is it a n y th in g of tangible
k in d ? H as anvone
ever seen a
•r
soul? H as any m echanism been
devised by th e wit of m an to gather
an im pression of th is fabulous and
im m aterial thing? To say it is a
shade is to suppose it at least a
shadow of som ething. We know
th a t m ind is force which can pro
ject its thoughts upon paper, and
th u s leave a durable m ark for
others to read.
N ature, as far as an y proof ex
ists, deals only with the m aterial
and laws of the m aterial. It is im
passive, and moves resistlessly
under laws of necessity th a t never
(C ontinued on 5 th . Page.)