Image provided by: Silverton Country Historical Society; Silverton, OR
About Torch of reason. (Silverton, Oregon) 1896-1903 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 18, 1897)
T H E TORCH o r REASON, SIL V E R T O N , OREGON, T H U R SD A Y , N O V EM BER 18, 1897. NEWS AND NOTES. Two new students, David Morgan and Louie Steelham raer, entered the University this week. Elvin Ames, who has had to stay out of school on account of sickness, expects to be with us again next week. Leona Allen is sick this week and has to stay out of school. We hope to see her well soon and hack at her desk. Remember the Sunday school entertainm ent Saturday night at Liberal H all. All of the proceeds go to the Sunday school. The T orch of R eason , the Liberal paper published at Silverton, has entered its second year of existence. Silverton is the home of the only Liberal U niversity in the world. [A shland Town Talk. Dr. A. A. Leonard, of H unting- ton, Oregon, will he in Silverton next week, where he will locate perm anently and engage in the practice of medicine. We welcome him here and wish him all the suc cess possible. His son will attend the Liberal U niversity. • On the fifth page, of this issue of the T orch , we print the first of the series of tracts compiled by Eliza Mowry Bliven. If you like them , send us a dollar and receive fifty tracts each m outh for a year, to dis tribute among your C hristian friends. In th a t way you can un doubtedly do a great am ount of good for the cause of Secularism . The tracts will be on different subjects each m onth. What Next? E ditor T orch of reason : I have a book on religion th a t is new to me. I t ’s title is, “ The Mvs- tic Book of God Unsealed, or, The Banished Angels and th eir P eniten tiary ,” by R. V. M illard, Bishop and F ounder of the Church of Re deemed Israel. It is a curiosity to me—a unique scheme, and, from a C hristian standpoint, a real good one. It claim s th a t “ we’u n i” here are the “ fallen angels” who were driven out of heaven with the d ra g on when they had the rebellion up there, and th a t we are “ im prisoned” on the earth (and this whole iolar system ) u n til we shall he “ redeem ed” by C hrist (who is Michael, the archangel who fought against the dragon). T hat God lives in the pleiades, an J all the rest of the orbs of the universe are peopled with God's angels. T hat the “ redeem ed” of this solar system will return to God in the seven stars when the end comes, hut us poor unre pen tan t fellows will be burned up and an n ih ilated , world, devil and all. You m ay know about it, but to me it is new, and a curiosity in religious literature. I regard it as a m odern im provem ent on C hris LITTLE POINTS. tian theology, and I th in k it will have a run. “ Rev.” M illard quotes No one should have the lib erty the bible largely in support of hit to do wrong. position, and appears to know as The bible makes credulity a vir much about it as any of them . tue and investigation a crime. F. S. M atteson . The m ajority should rule, hut on To the P romotors of S cientific account of th eir carelessness they are often led by an evil m inority. W isdom : (C ontinued from F ifth ) Give us your coat. C hristians, or dresses of any other U nbelievers o w n th a t some of th»j teachings of Christ are absurd. See Luke vi., you know in C onnecticut.” To carry out this, besides my 29-30. If honest, moral people will now subscription I buy one d o lla r’s worth (600) of this first tract, and unite they can work a greater m ir hope to get ten cents worth d istrib acle th an the world has ever wit uted in each of ten towns. If you nessed. w ant some one to do the sam e work Some who claim th a t “ to do in your own state, consider yourself good” is th e true religion seem to the responsible party and do it your have very foolish ideas in regard to self, or find some one who will. Be w’h at is good. sure to send me your address, so I According to Genesis I., God shall know in which states, or parts m ade the sun and moon after he of sta 'e s, or even in w hat little out- m ade the earth , and trees, and of-the-way spot, a sta rt has been grass. Oh, bible-believer, go to made. This will encourage me, school. and then I may find ways to help In C h rist’s tim e many w’ent you. It will also show me in what about pretending to heal the sick, states I m ust continue to look for a etc., as he did. Even the circula starter. If two or more volunteer in tion of the blood was not then the same state, I will let each know known. of the other, so they can work to If those who have a poetical pic gether. When I find one child who will ture of Jesus and his disciples in come S undays to he taught, I mean m ind could get th eir real photo to sta rt a Scientific Sunday School, g ra p h s, they m ight he astounded. If there is one m istake in the bi with the “ C andle” and such other helps a* I can secure. As soon as ble, it cannot he of divine origin, I have five members enrolled who and the story of the confusion of favor scientific meetings, enough to tongues is a m islake, according to each agree to fill one of the five the best philologists. The people of C h rist’s tim e be parts, i.e., music, singing, reading a hygienic lesson, a m orality lesson, lieved th a t the earth was th e cen and a lecture, or som ething in stru c ter of the universe, and he d id n ’t tive enough to answer, I will sta rt tell them any different. Science is scientific Sundav m eetings here, for the savior of the world. I th in k w’hat the five can do, In stea d of try in g to m ake people though having only fair abilities, believe in Jesus, it would do more will soon draw enough of an a u d i good, Mr. Preacher, to teach them ence to m ake a success o f it. tem perance, honesty, love for their W ho will try this plan elsewhere? homes, how to study, etc. W hy W hen quite a num ber of such meet- d o n ’t you do it? A ings have been started th e dem and The M ethodist laity o f W iscon for suitable lessons and lectures sin have organized and passed res will bring about a supply. W ho olutions dem anding equal represen will m ake th eir own the b anner tation with their “ sp iritu al d irect state by enrolling the most mem o rs” in the conferences. W hat m ust bers, or d istrib u tin g the m ost the “ shepherds” think of th eir u n tracts, or s ta rtin g the most m eet ruly Hocks? ings? Only two have sent me any helps A Splendid Lecture. tow ard the second tract, which I m ust soon undertake. W ho will Miss K ate De P eatt, secretary of send me anything for the third tract th e O. S. S. U., and a professor in during November? For it I think the Liberal U niversity, addressed a we should choose the most glaring splendid audience a t Liberal H all bible contradictions and show by last Sunday evening. H er subject science which side is false, or both, was “ Common Sense” , and she and w h at is true. The object of handled it in a common sense m a n this tra c t is to break down faith in ner. H er argum ents were so fair the bible and build up belief in sci th a t even the C hristians who were ence. Introduce also contradictions present could not reasonably take between the bible and science. offense at w hat was said. E liza M owry B liven , Sec. Iu answer to the often-asked Brooklyn, Conn. question, “ How could such a collos- lowers. She declared th a t the C h ristia n ity of today is vastly dif ferent from the old, and asked what caused this change if it was found ed on the tru th . “ T ru th can never change.” The subject of caste in reference t o the clergy was discuss- fed, and she rem arked th a t one of th e great evils which beset us today is representation w ithout tax atio n , m eaning the exem ption of church property. .James A. G arfield’s views were given and the audience appealed to, in th e nam e of ju stice and right, to rectify this great wrong. The position of woman as held by church authorities and the bible was given and she appealed to them to th in k for them selves instead of clinging to the bible and asking th eir husbands a t home. She said th a t a tru e life would be all the consolation one would need in the hour of d eath and th a t this life is worth living in spite of the absence of the C hristian faith, for, in t h e language of the Secular poet, “ The w orld is m illion-gloried, B en eath , aro u n d , ab o v e.” She concluded by co n trastin g tin 1 two religions, C h ristian ity and Secularism , and pleaded with the audience for a practical religion, and begged them to hasten the tim e when every hum an being could say “ The world is m y coun try ; to do good is my religion.” A Word in Behalf of the Liberal University. I cam e from Vale, Oregon, several hundred m iles from here, to atten d th e Liberal U niversity, and I do not regret the step, for, after having attended the U niversity for two weeks, I have m ade up my m ind to stay with it until I com plete my education. I have never learned as m uch in two week*'’ tim e a t any school before in my life. I th in k the plans and m ethods of teaching are far superior to th at of any school I have ever seen. I talked w ith several different parties, before I left home, about my a t tending th e U niversity, and they said, “ W hy d o n ’t you go to some school you know som ething about or wait and see if the U niversity am ounts to a n y th in g ? ” My answ er is this: If everyone says the sam e thing about th e school how will it ever grow and succeed? The best way to help it is to attend the U niversity yourself and to en courage others to do the same. One cannot im agine the work th a t has been and is being done here, unless he sees it for himself. I was greatly surprised hut happy to see the num ber of interesting and useful books th ey have in the library. I recom m end the Liberal U niversity to all, and advise all sal stru ctu re as C h ristian ity be who wish to obtain a good educa I f all C hristians would read all reared upon a fra u d ?” she referred tion to atten d it. Yours for tru th and justice, bibles, th ere would be fewer C hris to the religion of th e M oham m ed L ilian M. J ohnson . ans, and said it had as m an y fol tian s and more Secularists. 4