T H E TORCH OF REASON, S IL V E R T O N , OREGON , T H U R SD A Y , OCTOBER 7, 1897.
cient.fic Wisdom
an honest debt and fulfil all obli- as the preacher or priest reads t„
(H elp s tow ard th e tra c t “ Can Sins be B a t o n s as far as lies in our power, then,
Th
th e
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Id
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,
,
, ,
, ", ' " »» a m urderer. How
w X m ’ Texas1",
K’ A’ B" " ' n“ ‘ because .he law compels us, but ,
' „
’ ,
‘ kn° " a ">'th ,n g ”
•' beginning with a God
because it is best for others anti
,h " se tilings recorded in t h e ,,,f lo'’e and wisdom? According to
“The p enalty of a misdeed treads beat for ourselves.
I>ib,e> eaid to be done by the express Exodu8 U , Moses commits m nrJer.
on the heels of a transgressor.” A
Not a great w hile ago I was in com m ands o f God, th a t are shock- *" <haVtvr IV we are ' old t>>»« the
sinful act can never be elim inated co m p an y w ith sev eral lad ies w ho ing to h u m an ity anti to every idea
>8 kindled against
from the hum an m ind by p ra y e rs »ere discussing the im m oral eon- we have o f moral justice. We read
t " es t0 k l" him . but
ih e sincere Catholic believes th a t duct of a very devoted m em ber of
t th r
r
• /«
** ex ceed . According to
Presbyterian
,
PU‘ ‘° '* * SWOr<1 < * " « « • V I, God repents of doing
his sins can be forgiven in a few the
..........
...... v.u.v-.i. church
u r wmf He was
m inutes, if he will but confess to one ««f S hreveport’s (L a.) prom inent ! ° Ie nat,ons of PeoP ,e w,io had such a fooiish thing as to m ake
the priest. He is then
ready to m erchants, who failed
and ah- not given the,n the least offense, de­ m an on earth. In Genesis X IX ,
com m it other crim es w henever
he ! sconded w ith other peoples’ money. stroyi»>g all men, women and chil- we have the account of Lot and his
If such reading
m ay desire to do so. It is not so I He people had the utm st confi- «Iren, sparing neither age nor in- two daughters.
with the m an of a reasoning, inves deuce in him
He often gave the fancy. W herein could the sm iling should come into the house in any
other hook than the bible, it would
xtig atin g tu rn of m ind; lie th in k s he
__ , i
infants offend ? Can we believe in be burned on sight. In Genesis
will surely be punished, m e n ta lh con hl afford, for he was giving
an d physically, lor m isdem eanors away what did not belong to him. the m oral justice of a God who com­ X X \ I, Isaac lies about his wife.
In In ch ap ter X X X I, Rachel lies to
and does not ask to he forgiven, as He deposited money in several m ands their assassination?
there is no personal God to whom banks in C anada, and went abroad N um bers, chapter X X X I, we read her father. In Genesis X II, A bra­
he could reasonably go. The true with his family. One of the ladies of Moses and the priests meeting ham lies about his wife. Then God
God is th a t noble im pulse in m an, above m entioned expressed the the «Jewish arm y returning from blessed him ; hut in chap ter X X , he
lies again. Nice reading to he
w ithout which we would he no bet­ opinion that he had better be on
one of their m urdering, plundering placed in our schools, or to be read
ter than the wild beast th at roam s his knees praying to God to forgive
excursions. Moses was wroth be­ by our children for m orning and
the forest. This spirit directs our him for the great wrong lie had
cause they had saved all the women evening lessons! Will th is m ake
footsteps in the p ath of virtue; it done the men who had reposed con­
alive, and ordered them hack to them believe that God is the source
asks not forgiveness of sins, hu' fidence in him. W hen I rem arked
kill every woman and child except and origin o f tru th , and th a t from
bids us sin no more, if we would he th at he had better restore his ill-
the girls and young women, and him erro r and falsehood cannot
happy here and now. This most gotten gains to the rightful owners,
these the officers w e re to keep alive em anate? Would an all-wise God
potent factor, th a t has generated and th a t would settle it with
and bring home for their own use, do or say things and repent of
the spirit of tru th and g o o d n e s s in God w ithout pray« rs, one of them
thus .... ii-igning to debauchery 32,- them ? The old testam ent tells of
the m ind of m an, is true m orality. gave me a very defiant look, as
000 young women and children. God’s repenting th irty times. In
W ith some, belief is religion, and much as to say, “ you are ex pres ing
Kmong the detestable villians in Isaiah, 45th chapter, it says, “ I am
is far better than deeds. In con­ Infidel sentim ents.”
any period of the world is it possi- the Lord and there is none else; I
versation with a church m em ber
,
,
hie rp, to find . a \ greater th
an M oses?
f<»rm the light and create darkness;
m a n m ioses .
we may sum up all the good things [H elps tow ard th e tra c t “ C h a rac te r of
God a n d Bible Im m o ra lity ,” from Joel
A lie character of the God dc- I make peace an d create evil; I, the
th a t it would tak e to constitute
M. Berry, N a t’l S oldiers’ H om e, O hio.] scribed in the old testam ent is en­ Lord, do all these things.” So if
true religion; it would not he ac
tirely different from the God de he does all these things there is no
cepted as w orth an y th in g if church
L uther said th a t a m an migh scribed in the new testam ent, and
sense in charging them up to a n y ­
faith and bible were left out. But com m it the grossest im m orality, j
there are also two different devils. one else. If you want a nice chap­
sum up the worth of those three he only believed enough in the
The hi hie says about 6,000 y ears ter to read turn to Ezekiel X X I II.
a ttrib u te s when m orality is left out. Lord Jesus C hrist. Beecher sait
ago God created a beautiful world I t is nice reading for m orning and
They say religion has a restraining th a t the God of the bible is a m oia
out of nothing, with beautiful flow­ evening prayer in the fam ily.
influence on im m oral and disorderly- m onstrosity. The m urderer H o lm e s
ers, beasts, birds, fishes,and peopled
I he quickest and surest wav to
conduct, hut from close observation believed th a t he could kill all the
it to suit himself; then gets vexed make Liberals of moral people is to
we are com pelled to deny it. It is innocent children he wanted to,
with his work and drowns out the get them to read the bible, after
only the fear of getting into the and th a t all that he would have to
whole business, except eight persons th e y have learned to understand
clutches of the law- th at restrains do w as to repent and go right to
• nd two of each kind o f anim als. w hatever they read, so as to judge
them . I mean a 1 who need re heaven. The bible tells us that
Did any devil ever com m it a more for themselves w hether it is all true
strain t; some do not. Divine sanc­ Jesus came, not to bring peace, hut
foolish, atrocious crim e? Then in and all fit for young people to read,
tion has but little effect on the a sword. “ They who will not th at
the new testam ent Jesus is claimed believe and follow.
mind of an y ratio n al m an. T h at I shall rule over them , bring hither
io lie God him self, and God’s son.
there are m any good people who and slay them b> fore me,” is the
[1 wish everyone who favors the
In the old testam ent the devil is
call them selves C hristians, we do same spirit o f m urder which has
represented as a gentlem an of honor Promotion of Scientific Wisdom in
not doubt, hut their belief does not m anifested itself in all the C hristian
and truthfulness, whom God salutes, place of the bible, would send ten
m ake them better.
They are a nations of Europe, and does even
and they enter into a friendly con­ cents for five copies of this T orch ,
class that would he good in or out today, where standing arm ies are
versation about his servant, .Job.
mark these two articles, then write
of the church. But we all know kept to d u tc h the th ro ats of their
The devil told Adam and Eve to
th at there is a m iserable set who brother C h ristia n so n the slightest
on the margin, “please read, and
eat all the fruit they wanted, and
are co n stan tly using the church toi provocation. This same spirit ex­
they should not die, and he told hand to your next neighbor, or re­
a cloak, who assum e a sanctim on­ tends to the next world, for St.
the tru th for they «lid not die. But turn to-------------- Then loan
i e s air, and kneel in pr.tyer, he John, the divine, i< 11s us they once
in the new testam ent he is called th«*rn in different directions aro u n d
lieving th at their sins will i»e b lo tte d had a desperate war in heaven.
the deceiver of m ankind. H e even you. All helpers are requested to
out jus, for the asking. U ntil th a t
Ingersoll say8 all that is neces­ tried to lead astray God himself.
. z.
• tr i T
i try their hand on the second tract,
belief is wholly obliterated from sary for a* person to do in order to .
According to Genesis J I, th e Lord i
the hum an m ind, we can never even find out w hat the bible is, is to read , , , .
.
.
during October: “ False C la im « n f
told the man and woman th a t on . . .
ra is e o iaim s of
hope to see the tim e when our pock­ it and believe it as it reads. T hat the very day they should cat of a C hristianity; Science Promotes Civ-
ets will not he weighted down with is ju st w hat they won’t do. Nine-
certain fruit in the garden they ih zatio n .”— E liza M owry B liven .]
keys. 1 hey claim som ething super­ ten th s of those today claim ing to
should surely die. They did eat,
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ior to m orality, when they have not he the greatest lovers and believers
but lived hundreds of years. Did
Notice our ad for our New Song
even attain ed to the perfection of in tin* bible are as ignorant of what
God know when he pul the man in Book. These little hook» hare cost
th a t. I have asked m inisters not it really teaches as a horse is of the
the garden how things were going u . m uch labor and we w ant to sell
to hold out rew ard to people f««r .to- holy ’and. I prepare»! f r the min­ to term in ate? If he was a God of
o . ,
,
• ,
. tnem . Send for one and write to
ing right, nor punishm ent for doing istry and spent three years in the •
infinite love and wisdom, as i s 1
rue io
wrong. I t leaclie« us to do right for pulpit, hut when I began to read claim ed, he could not help but your friends about it.
the rew ard we may expect, an d to the bible and to understand just
know it. But in order to save th«*
avoid doing wrong for the fear of w hat it says, m y opinion of it cred it of the bible they will tell you , We give the Torch of Reason and
beiug punished. T hat inculcates a changed very quickly. Most people he was only experim
enting _ a .........
little. ^ ‘e e Freethought
r e th o u g h t Magazine
M agazine for one
—r _..... ........o
»elfish motive.
We should lie read such ¡.arts only as they wish
In th»* fourth chapter it tells us J ear for the small sum of $1.-50.
prom pted by purer motives. Pay to believe, or know only such parts
that the first man ever horn into) Now is the time to subscribe.