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-
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