THE TORCH OF REASON, SILVERTON, OREGON, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 1897. S C IE N T IF IC W IS D O M . TRACT No. 1. C an S in s be F o rg ive n ? 1X8 are acts which bring harm upon ourselves or others. No i harm , no sin. The harm is punishm ent. Each sin makes some one less useful, h a p p y , good, healthy or prosperous. D im inish ing i h e surrounding good harm s ourselves. Science traces evils hack to th eir causes. Teach the people the causes of diseases, miseries, all evils, and they will stop sinning for fear of these sure punishm ents. M other, school, laws, experiei ce, Hii-torv. teach punishm ents. Guild or m an not tau g h t “ the fatal chain’ of action and consequence” continues his self-gratifying foRi-s. To forgive is to release from } unishm nt. Can forgiveness restore the d ru n k a rd ’s m in ted brain, lost time, in ju ry done to wife and children, the m urdered man those ruined by bad exam ple? F«»r eleventh hour repentance religion’ prom ists forgiven ss with eternal happiness; hut “ not heaven i self u p on the past hath pow<u”. N ature never forgives sins. “ Ti e penultv of a misdeed tread s on the heels of a transgressor.” Prom ising forgiveness tem pts men to th in k they can escape punish- ment, so they sin more. Teaching the sure punishm ent for every sin m akes men m oral, healthy, wise. P unishm ents are enforcem ents ami preventives, so sins ought not to he forgiven. Each cause of evil dis covered m akes a new m oral law. T hus the m oral code is ever im proving. C h ristian s aie tty in g to follow four moral codes; believing the bible perfect, the sem i-barbarian code of M oses, of 4,000 years ago, the king’s code of Solomon, the forgiveness code of C '-rist, 1800 years old, and the up-to-date eq u al-rights code of science. The god of Moses ordered men to lie, st-al and m urder. Read .Jacob’s t h e f t s , t h t lies of Rachel, S arah , A braham , and David. .Tews slau g h tered whole nations in wars by G od’s com m and, for plunder, lat ds slaves, m istresses. (See Num bers xxxi.) All-wise? He repents th irty times. J u s t? He ble.-v-es one race ami curses all others. M erciful? He sends plagues, Hoods, wars, disea ts. (R ead Lev. xxvi, 27-29 ) A1 m ighty? Devil, to create m illions without wisdom enough to do right! Bible exam ples tem pt believers into dishonestv, injustice, g re e d , wars, expecting G od’s blessing. T hus the pious cashier robs’ the hank. To breed im m oral thoughts, read Judges xix and xxi, and num erous chap ters about harlots, polygam y, concubines, whoredom. No wonder m in isters and bible readers seduce women. \\ ill reading the Old T estam ent teach children honesty, m orality? Should schoolteachers define all words used in the bible? All other schoolbooks hear explanation throughout. ~ e ach -rs and m others should stu d y the w h o le hi hie b e fo re recom m ending it. Solom on’s code robbed the people. Kings, m onopolists, political rings, free lovers liq uor dealers, follow t; »a». Io enrich them selves they im poverish others. ( h n s t s code of m iracles ai d forgiveness is blind io n a tu re ’s laws and punishm ents. Science abolishes wars ami vices by contracting result* with a rb itra tion and iim ralitv. W ould scientific teaching, on S undays, or bible teaching, most pro mote m orality and hap} h ese? 5 ài A. W olf & Son. R espectfully invite you to visit th e ir estab lish m en t and con vince yourself th a t they are show ing the greatest line of G eneral M erchandise in Marion county at pop u lar prices. Mail orders given prom pt atten tio n . Yours to Please A. W OLF & SON S ilverton, Oregon. C u is s ite r D aven p ort -DEALERS IN- M Corner Main and \VTater Streets, SILV E R T O N , O R E. Hicks & Ames DEALERS IN I o THE P romotors of S c i e n t i f i c i b egun at d c o n t i n u e d . W ISDOM: The long-delayed tract is before vou. If you like it, help me use it. But we m ust not expect t«» conquer •he whole world bv the first shot, If your fifty co,,ies reach only one who is brig h t enough t<» he convinc- ed, and thus you win only one new member, half I he o th er reader* m ay be m ade a little uneasy, a little in doubt about th eir bible and god he- mg perfect, and ru n e of them will be led to th in k and talk in a line they never thought about before. 1'hus the tract will accom plish its mission. T his contains b u t a chicken’s peep for science; hut in the course of twelve tracts it m u -t develop into a lusty, full-grown crower. Evolution is a slow, persistent plodder. If each <»f the twelve tra c ts win you one m em ber, each new m em ber am i new tract helping you win the next, there will be enough by the end of th e year to carry on scientific S unday m eetings, and Have enough half-hearted doubters b>r a fair audience. Then educa- tiou by lessons and lectures can be P robably this tract is m t nenrlv as g o d as if com piled by those more capable, hut as they did n<»t undertake it we m ust do the last we can with »his. I am going to use • his tract in C onnecticut, an perhaps in Rhode Island, in the following way. F u s t, subscribe my d ollar for the y ear’s tracts. My fifty each m onth I will distribute in ray own town. My husband will subscribe algo. H e can distribute in the other towns. Bv inquiry and searching the F rethought papers, I think I can obtain som ething of a list of Unbelievers in other towns of Connecticut. I will semi to each a copy of the tract, also an Enroll m ent B lank, and a copy of the pa- per, ’‘E nrollm ent of Prom otors of- Scientific W isdom ” (hereafter, for brevity, I shall call th a t t he G u id e)1 and enclose with these th r e e p a p e rs this note: “ If you like this tract, will you send me ten cents for fifty e p ic s and d istrib u te them ? am i may I have your nam e on the enclosed I blank? Please send me the ad- (C o n tin u e d on ' ighth I’egu , Hardw are, Tin w are, Stoves, AG RICULTURAL IM P L E M E N T S 'in n s, Fishing Tackle, Cutlery, Sporting Goods, Etc., Etc. SILVERTON, OREGON. Secularists ■ ^ ^ O r anybody SEND US YOUR JOBWORK W e W ill Do It For You Neatly, Quickly, and For Less Money Than You can Get It E lsew h ere We Print A nything