THE TORCH O F REASON, SILVERTON, OREGON, THURSDAY, MAY 20, 1891
A Defense.
Editor t orch of Reason:
Your paper of May 6th contained
an at tide entitled some corrections
by Mr. M Johnson of Vale Ore.
Mr. Johnson says that in my article
en titled T he Exodus of the Jews
th e re are som e m istak e s w hich he,
claims to have correct
These mistakes Mr. Johnson
M r.J o h n s o n ,
ed.
sav * s are th ree in
num b er.
F irs t,
not to the writer of this article—
for proof see the Bible. Adam was
created 4004 B. C.; Adam to Noah,
1056 years: flood threatened 1756
B. C., and if Noah was 600 years
old when the flood commenced,
then 1656 B. C. must be the date
thereof. It must, however, he borne
in mind that the fabulous ages of
men as given in the Bihle are
merely tricks to catch the gullible
or ignorant and are not worthy of
serious consideration and are in
tended to cover the period of time
or age of the old testament for it
can he proven by the evidence con
tained in the books themselves that
they were not written until very
near the time of Christ or at least
in answering thereto. In conclu
sion I respectfully refer Mr. J. to
article on flood, Torch of Reason,
March 18, 1897, taken from Geu.
6th and 7th chapters.
U. D. BURROWS.
UNIVERSITY NOTES.
Professor Geer went to Portland
this week on business for the Uni
versity.
Mrs. Dr. Brewer and M’ss Hines
visited our school this week and
complimented our work.
Reference is made to Gen. 15:13
where God makes certain promises
to Abram 1913. B. C. 257 years be
School closes May 28th and the
fore the flood l>egan. Mr. Johnson
students and teachers will then do
says the above is a mistake, lor
everything they can to help along
Abram did not live before the Hood
the work on the new building.
see Gen. 7:7 and that the Hood con
tinued 2349 B. C. making the
above referred to conversation b e
Blank No. i.
tween God and Abram to have ><><><XK>0<XXXXXX><)<»-CH>0<XX><K><X><X>0<><><XX><><H><XX>0<X><H><>0<X><X><>-Q
taken place 436 years after the
• • • L ib e lla i (J n iV e r ^ s itg F u n d • • •
Hood instead of 257 years before.
Mr. Johnson’s atten tio n is called
******
to the following, the date 1913 B. C.
is given as it stands in the Bible,
...................................................................................... E . M. 297.
»
ami is unreliable historically, for
M r . J o hn H ic k s , T r e a s u r e r F in a n c e B u ild in g C o m m it te e , S ilv e r to n , O re . :
according to the Bible Abram was
born 1264 B. C. Again Adam
S i r — I n c l o s e d p l e a s e f in d $ ............................................................................................f o r
was born 4(X)4 B. C., and Noah,
L il> e ra l U n i v e r s i t y F u n d , s a i d f u n d to h e u s e d s o le ly f o r t h e c o n s t r u c t i o n ,
2948 B. C. The number of years
m a in te n a n c e a n d f u r n is h in g of th e L ib e ra l U n iv e rs ity of S ilv e rto n , O re .
from Adam to Noah was 1056;
and if Noah was 600 years
E , L . S m it h , S ilv e r to n ,
old when the Hood began 1656
R obert S cott , W o o d b u rn ,
............................................................................................
J o h n H ic k s , T r e a s u r e r , S ilv e r to n ,
years B. C. and not 2349 B. C. and
C o m m itte e on F in a n c e .
if God made many promises to
> (X X X X X K >O <X X X X >O O<XK><<><XX;-CKX>O<K><KK><XXXX>V O<X><K><Kj
Abram as Gen. 15:13 (1913 B. C.)
says, then these promises were
Blank No. 2.
made 257 years before the Hood
and not 436 years after as Mr. ^ c x x x k x )( x x h x h >< x x x k x >< x >< k k k >< x x x x x x x x )< x x x x ><>
Johnson claims, from this there can
• L i b e r a l ¿ J n iV c iis ity ; F u n d
be no possible escape. Again Mr.
******
Johnson says Abram did not live
before the Hood, but the Bible says
...................................................................................... E . M. 297.
he di'l, ami places the Bihle and
God on the witness stand in support
I p r o m i s e t o p a y to t h e o r d e r o f J o h n H i c k s , S i l v e r t o n , O r e .,
of its ease, and the following is the
............................... ................................... D o l l a r s , o n o r b e f o r e .......................................................
testimony of God himself; Joshua
s a id f u n d t o b e u s e d s o le ly f o r t h e c o n s t r u c t i o n , m a i n t e n a n c e a n d f u r n i s h
24:2-3 “Ami Joshua said unto all
the people. Thus saith the Lord
in g o f t h e L i b e r a l U n i v e r s i t y o f S i l v e r t o n , O r e .
God of Israel your father dwelt on
E . L . S m ith , S ilv e rto n ,
the other side of the Hood in old
R o b e r t S c o tt, W o o d b u rn ,
.....................................................................................
time, even Terah, the father of
J o h n H ic k s , T r e a s u r e r, S ilv e fto n ,
Abraham, and the father of Nachar,
C o m m itte e o n F in a n c e .
etc. And 1 took your father
. O G O O O O O O O < X X > O-O-O-O-O-OO-O-O-O-O-OO-O-O-O-OOO-O-OO-O-OOOOO-O-O-O-OOO-O-O-O-O-O-O
Abraham from the other side of the
( nt th is nut nr copy it, fill in w ith the am ount you wish to subscribe, and re tu rn to
flood and led him throughout
Jo h n »licks, treasu rer finance co m m ittee, S ilv erto n , O re.
•
all the land of Canaan—and gave
him Isaac.” The second mistake
Every one should do something
Mr. Johnson claims bears reference after the captivity of Babylon.
to Gen. 47:27 wherein Mi-. B. is giv
It may interest many persons to to help build our new building this
ing the number as 70 of Jacob’s know that Noah was a girl and summer. W hat can you do?
household that entered Egypt, stat married during the time of Moses,
Elvin Ames presented the school
ing that this happened 706 B. C. her father’s brother’s son—see with a fine aquarium and Johnnie
If Mr. Johnson had considered one Num. 26:33 and 36:11—and as Thurman stocked it with soft-finned
moment he would have seen that M oses and Aaron were living dur teleosts.
the above date was a typographical ing the reign of King David—see
Miss DePeatt speaks in the Lib
error, and should read 1706 B. C. I Chron. 23:13 -1015 B. C., the
which date was just 50 years before story of t he flood and Noah, Abram, eral Hall next Sunday evening on
the flood was threatened, and not Isaac and Jacob, including Moses, the subject, “A Glance Behind the
543 years after the flood began as Aaron and Joshua—for Joshua was Curtain.”
Two more students entered the
Mr. Johnson claims. The third one of those who returned from
mistake Mr. Johnson says con Babylon, see Ezra and Nehemiah— preparatory department this week,
sists in Mr. B.’s reference to Noah are nothing but m jth or fable in- Lila and Lela Dolan. This makes
and the greatest zoological collec ■ vented by some smart person or thirty-nine on the roll, and the a t
tion on record in the year 1656 B. C persons for the double purpose of tendance is excellent.
which Mr. Johnson says should power and revenue.
One of our students, Charles
I thank Mr. Johnson for his Page, made a flying trip to his
have read 2349 B. C. the mistake
if any belongs to I lie Bible, and friendly criticism and take pleasure home at Zena last Saturday. While
there Charles picked up two more
valuable specimens for our collec
tion.
The president and one of the stu
dent, Morris Van Vaikenburg, went
fishingSaturday,but although there
were plenty <»f fish, they seemed to
be Adventists, and wouldn’t bite
on the old-time Sabbath.
Captain Arnie Forward’s gallant
soldiers, after a desperate struggle
and fighting at a great disadvant
age, their captain having been
wounded in a skirmish with the
enemy, swept the field and cap
tured 111 prisoners at the Y. P. S.
S. C. Friday evening.
L ittle Points.
A god who will permit eternal
suffering is worse than a devil.
The spirit of kindness that is in
the world is the only holy spirit
worth having.
An infidel who has given up all
enthusiasm for right living is worse
than a Christian.
A Christian who will not inves
tigate and examine both sides is
worse than a heathen.
One honest, progressive thought
is worth more than all the lies that
have been handed down by the
prophets and priests.
Has your past life been un
satisfactory on account of bad
mistakes? The present is yours;
use it that the future may be bright!
A freethinker who has bad
thoughts may do more harm than a
slave to orthodoxy, and an infidel
may he as superstitious. W hat the
world needs is that class of infidelic
freethinkers called Secularists.
If all the energy that is now
spent in the imbibing of alcoholic
and holy spirits was used to edu
cate the young in science and mor
ality, we would soon turn seas of
misery and crime into oceans of hap
piness and love.
The teachers and lecturers of the
O. S. S. U. do not use tobacco and
we advise the members to refrain
from its use, as it robs men of their
ability to think. It only becomes
a pleasure by satisfying an acquired
appetite, and the victim is soon
punished. Save the tobacco money
and spread the gospel of science
and morality.
One extreme is the pious super
stitious ideas of holy, sanctified
saints advocated by the orthodox
clergy. The other extreme is the
foolith indulgence of the appetites
and passions, thinking that this
produces happiness. The golden
mean is the ideas advocated by the
Oregon State Secular Union. What
the world needs is no superstitiou,
no immorality, but honest, pure,
truthseeking lives.