Torch of reason., August 26, 1897, Image 1

«
'll OF
VOL. 1.
SILVERTON, OREGON, THURSDAY, AUGUST 26, Í697.
Secularism .
NO. 43.
transform ed into a corrupting poi-1
Faith and Fact.
is not the slightest evidence tending
son; and cupidity, offspring and
to show th a t gods a n d devils ever
Sing w ith joy, for a good tim e is d a w n ­
By K. U . Ingersoll.
com panion of ignorance, became
ing upon us,
existed.
For m any years the pulpit has
The tire has i>een kindled, long m ay ' the cause of all the evils th at have
God is guess.
it be fanned ;
been
losing
influence,
and
the
T hen farewell to all falsehood, deceit, desolated the earth.
An undesigned designer, an un-
and im p o stu re,
Yes, ignorance and cupidity! sacred calling no longer offers a > eauaed cause. Is as incom prehensi-
x W hen Secularism shall spread o ’er
These are the twin sources of all career to young men of talen t and hie to the hum an m ind as a circle
th e land.
Biased by am bition.
T hen farewell to the clergy, and S tate the torm ents of m an!
w ithout a diam eter.
aid to p riestcraft ;
these into false ideas of happiness,
\\ hen people believed in “ special
Ih e dogm a of the Irin ity m ulti-
F arew ell to all whose m ansions are
he
has
m
istaken
or
broken
the
laws
b u ilt on th e sand ;
providence” they also believed th a t
difficulty by thiee.
On th e firm rock of tru th m an shall of nature in his own relation with
1 heologians do not, an d cannot,
build in th e fu tu re,
preachers
had
great
influence
with
external
objects;
and
injuring
his
W hen Secularism shall spread o’er
believe th a t the au th o rity to govern
th e land.
own existence, has violated indi­ God. They were regarded as cel- ¡comes from the consent of the gov-
Then farewell to th e erm in es, the vidual m orality: sh u ttin g through
estia! obhyists, and they were re- erned. T hey regard God as the
gowns, and th e candles.
T he m eaningless m um m eries th at these his heart to com passion, and spected and feared because of su p ­ m onarch, and them selves a* his
none u n d e rstan d ;
his mind to justice, he has injured posed power.
agents. They alw ays have been
T heology’s corpse shall he buried u n ­
and afflicted his equal, and violated
m ourned for,
Now, no one who has the capac­ the enemies of liberty.
W hen Secularism shall spread o ’ei social m orality.
From ignorance ity to th in k believes in special prov­
1 bey claim to have a revelation
th e land.
and cupidity, man has arm ed idence. Of course there are some from their god, a revelation th a t is
Farew ell, war and m u rd er, farewell
against m an, fam ily against family, pious imbeciles who think th a t pes­ the rightful m aster of reason. As
in q u isitio n s,
R eligions of h ate th a t m an k in d tribe against tribe; and the earth tilence and fam ine, cyclone and
long as they believe this, they must
shall not sta n d ;
is
become
a
theatre
of
blood^of
disf-
earthquake, Hood and fire, are the be the enemies of m ental freedom.
In su re your lives, oh, ye strife-m aking
creeds for
cord, and of rapine. By ignoranct* weapons of God, the tools of his They do not ask man to th in k , hut
W hen Secularism shall spread o ’er
and cupidity, a secret war, ferment- trade, and th at with these weapons com m and him to obey.
th e land.
Then all hail to th e tru e, to th e ju st, ing in the bosom of every state, has he kills and starves rends and de
It the claim s of the theologians
and th e honest,
separated citizen from citizen; and ' vours, drowns and burns, countless are adm itted, the C hurch becomes
T he kind loving h e art and th e wel­
the same society lias divided itself thousands of the hum an race.
com ing hand,
the ruler of the world, and to su p ­
And closely-knit love through our into oppressors and oppressed, into
If God governs this world, if port and obey priests will be the
c o u n try , th e wide w orld,
m
asters
and
slaves;
by
these,
the
W hen Secularism shall spread o ’er
he builds and destroys, if back of business of m ankind. All thesethe-
th e lan d .
heads of a nation, sometimes inso­ every event is his will, then he is ologians claim to have a revelation
—Selected.
lent and audacious, have forged its fteither good nor wise. He is ig­ from their God, and yet they ca n ­
chains w ithin its own bowels; and norant ami malicious.
not agree as to what the revelation
Sources of the E vils of Society.
m ercenary avarice has founded
A few days ago, in Paris, men reveals. The other day, looking
F r o m Volney»s Rains of Empires.
political despotism .
Sometimes, and women had gathered together from my window a t the hay of
In tru th , scarcely were the facul­ hypocritical and cunning, they have in the nam e of charity. The build- New York, I saw m any vessels go­
ties of men developed, when, in ­ called from heaven a lying power, ing in which they were assem bled ing in m any directions, an d yet
veigled by objects which gratify and a sacrilegious yoke; and credu­ took fire, and m any of these men they all were moved by the same
the senses, they gave themselves lous cupidity has founded religious and women perished in the flames, wind. The direction in which they
up to unbridled desires. The sweet despotism. By these have been
A French priest called this an were going did not depend on the
sensations which nature had a t­ perverted the ideas of good and evil, act of God.
direction of the breeze, hut the set of
tached to their real wants, to endear just and unjust, vice and virtue;
Is it not strange th a t C hristians the sails. In this way the sam e
to them th eir existence, no lunger and nations have wand' red in a speak of th e ir God as an assassin? bible furnishes creeds for all the
satisfied them . Not content with labyrinth of errors and calam ities. How can they love and w orship C hristian sects. But w hat would
The cupidity of m an and his ig­ this monster who m urders his child- we say if the captians o ' .he l>oats
the abundance offered by the earth
or produced by industry, they norance,—these are ihe evil genii ren?
I saw should each swear th a t his
wished to accum ulate enjoym ents, which have wasted the earth! These
Intelligence seems to be leaving boat was the only one th a t moved
and coveted those possessed by their are the decrees of fate which have the orthodox church. The great in the same direction the wind was
These are divines are growing sm aller, weaker, blowing?
fellowrnen. The strong man rose overthrow n em pires!
up ag ain st the feeble, to take from the celestial anathem as which have day by day. Since the death of
C hristianity, with its ignorant
him the fruit of bis labor; the fee­ sm itten these walls onee soglorious, H enry W ard Beecher no m an of and jealous God, its loving and re-
ble invoked an o th er feeble one to and converted the splendor of a genius has stood in an orthodox vengeful C hrist, itsch ild ish legends,
repel th e violence.
Two strong populous city into a solitude of pulpit. The m in islerso f intelligence , its grotesque miracles, its “ fall of
m ourning and
But as in
T
-nnri,i ;n
t ih«r .1 cnurenes,
nh umi,«« m an ,” its atonem
*
•* salvation
,
ones then said:
t of ruins!
.
,, a,< iouna
in tne kioerai
ent, . its
the
bosom
of
man
have
sprung
all
,
,,
,
.
I.
.
.
.
.
.
.
“ W hy fatigue ourselves to pro­ th e evils which have aflliced his " ''e r e they arc all,,wed to express by la,.h , .Is heaven for stu p id ity ,
duce enjoym ents which we m ay life, there he also is to seek and to fheir thoughts and preserve theii and its hell for genius, does not
find in the hands of the weak ? I .et find their remedies.
m anhood. Some of these preachers and cannot satisfy the free brain
us join and despoil them ; they shall
.
7
keep their faces tow ards the E ast, and th e good h e a rt.—i From the
Mind
is
non-m
aterial,
has
no
labor for us, and we will enjoy
Preface of II. T abor’s “ F aith and
existence in space, as m aterial bod­
w ithout labor.”
tea
nave.
we cannot
toner, a , «hile tlieif orthodox brethern aland F a c t.”
ies have.
We
cannot touch
with h fhnir
to the
I F » sunrise
KiinrÍMt» and
And the strong associating for thought or feeling, and one feeling wi'
their Rflolru
backs to
and
W hen we see priests so angry
oppression, and the weak for resis­ does not lie outside oi
of another in worship the sunset of the day
with atheistical opinions, should
tance, men m u tu ally affiicteJ each space. These phenom ena occur in before.
we not suspect the justice of their
We know th at doubt is as natural
other; and a general and fatal dis­ time only. * * * * We niust
alw avs think of m ind as attended
.
....
cause? S piritual ty ran ts! ’tis ve
as hope, and th at m an is no more
cord spread over the earth, in which
by, and, in some inexplicable way,
‘
**”
who have defamed th e .d iv in ity by
the passions, assum ing a thousand related to, thn living organism , and responsible for lus doubts than for
.
... .
, .
\
‘
°
°
new forms, have generated a con­ more particularly the nervous sys- the heating of his heart. Every
tern
and
its
actions.
And
this
hum
an
being,
who
knows
the
nature
H
<
•
<
>u
art
truly
im
-
tinued train of m isfortunes.
Thus the same self-love which, recognition of this close and con- of evidence, th e lim itations of the ? ,0U , In iP¡«ty consists in insult-
stan t com panionship with body isa
. .
.
« » ..» ,
t . ing the god in whom it believes,
m oderate and prudent, was a p rin ­ m atter of great practical moment nund, m ust have “ doubts” about H e who does not believe in a god
ciple of happiness and perfection, in seeking to train and develop the go<l* and devils, about heavens and can n o t in ju re him , and can n o t of
becoming blind and disordered, was m ind.—Sully.
hells, and m ust know th a t there course be impious.— Seaver.
ií