* THE TORCH OF REASON, SILVERTON, OREGON, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 23, 189: 3 Note and Comment. observers report sufficient food in T • -J e i . In d ia for all. But it is not in the It is said th at tim es of business v j . . , / i, . ... h an d s of those who produced it. and depression are favorable to religious h i m »kio .. k . the Pr°ducers alone are hungry, revival. Is th is why we are ex- n J p ecte.lt.. be th an k fu l for what we h *’ lndeed “ h ard sh ip , »1- haven’t got? ,K a' 8 " " d , * ' - 7 » here, but Chria- * , tian E ngland gland s spoliation sp m ust *** hear a large share, if not the whole, A voluntary com m ittee will col of the blam e for actual starv atio n lect and exhibit a t the trans-M issis in In d ia. ______ j. H. m . sippi exposition a t O m aha, as an evidence of prosperity, a car-load T he F all of H a n . of cancelled K ansas m ortgages. Of C O N TIN U ED FROM F IR S T PA G E. course if they cannotcollect enough against it. W ith such a com bina of the genuine article for th eir p u r tion of faculties could there be an v pose, paper and p rin tin g are cheap conflict in the m ind, an y debate, fanother evidence!) and they can any tem ptation (i. e., tension)? It add spurious copies at pleasure. would surely be an argum ent of *** only one side; a sim ple decision of “Conscience is m ade to direct the m oral faculties. The bare m en man, and not m an to direct con tion of so terrible a crim e would v in ce,” says a religious exchange. shock such a nature. Now, if the But the fact rem ains th a t m an does I reader will picture to him self a not only direct conscience, but, so m ind in which the m oral faculties far from its being a som ething ere- exert a sim ilar restrain in g power ated and set up in him as an infal- over all the inferior propensities, lible guide, be him self creates or he will have the idea of a perfect develops it, just as he has develop- m ental governm ent. ed every o th er m ental an d m oral I f A dam possessed such a perfect attribute. Conscience is but the m ental equipm ent he would not reflection of m an ’s ideas of right and could not have sinned, because and wrong—an effect, never a cause perfection im plies com plete moral grows out of his experience and | restrain t. On the other hand, if he changes with the altera tio n of his opinions. W ere it the fixed and infallible th in g supposed in the quo- tation, m en’s opinions of rig h t and wrong could not c h a n g e — in fact, they could have no opinions on ethical points, being merely vassals to conscience or outlaw s against it. But conscience in the orthodox sense is n othing more nor less th an fear. The “conscience-stricken” sinner sim ply quakes in fear of the was created imperfect, in yielding | to sin he would have undergone no co n stitu tio n al change. T hat is to say, if he sinned in de<d he was a sinner in thought before he com- m itted an y outw ard act, and must have been originally endowed with a sinful nature. Or, in still other words, he must have been depraved before he fell, or he would not have fallen, and being already sinful, of course he did not fall when* he vengeance of his god, and the feel-| sinued. mg is the sam e in the pagan d e The bilde teaches that Adam fell. votee as in the C h ristian . If he was created per fect the idea of * , the fall is absurd If be was creat- * „ -w * W e have the h sson of In d ia as it , e<l in M'e»Fct, h e then, in sinning, siniply acted out the n atu re with which he was endow ed, ami m an i fested a will which was necessarily evolved from his inherent organiz ation and his environm ents. In the la tte r case God would have been directly responsible for A dam ’s transgression.— [T h e Brain and the Bible. applies to religious m yths. No body believes in a god who could su p ernaturally intervene to save India. T h at day has passed. True, t hristians still claim om nipotence for their god, hut it all applies now- a d a y s in a m etaphysical sense. He still works m iracles in people’s E m b o sse d in G old. hearts, but he has resigned his po To buy and reproduce fam ous p aintin g s sition as w eather-regulator. All involves an e x p e n d itu re th a tc o u ld h a rd c iv iliz ed people un d erstan d th a t ly be Irorne, unless, as in th e ease of the Y o u th ’s C om panion, th e e n te rp rise is fl< <>ds and d rouths are due to caus- su stain ed by tire approval of m ore th an with w hich no god can interfere ; ^ve h u n d re d th o u san d su b scrib ers. The W 1. . , □ A,e " e trnlhseekers? and m ost costly ex am p les of th is form of Would In d ia b*- in her h e lp le s s a r t - Y et every new su b scrib er receives j- • , 1 , ’ it without additio n al charge. M oreover, r\ 1 ng c o n d itio n if free from th e the pa|,er is sent free to new subscribers domination of rent an d tax gather- ever.v week fr° m l he tim e th e subscrip- , ,1 1 tion is received u n til Ja n u a ry , 1898, and Has not landlordism render- then for a full year to Ja n u a ry , 1899. pd her helpless and unable to pro- . The pop u lar price of the C om panion, vido „ i . n . $1.75 a y ear, and th e c h a ra c te r of its • against calam ity ? Even in co n ten ts, m ake it a pap er for every f th 1, e n tiio>t « 1 . • 1» 1» A» 1 z 1 E L' « xceptional r An « #-«•««« 1 n a 4 ttra + c tio n s are productive Years are not household. a a ... . , » ■ « a « - . ** prom ised for th e fifty-tw o n u m b ers to be toilers stripped issued d u rin g 1898. The R t. lio n . W. v» ry verge of w hat they now suffer [;• ¡dadstone, the H on T hom as B. , , alm ost to t h e wL. « o , ,. Reed, Rudyard Kipling, Lillian >ordi- . o f em em in in en en t t c c o o n n trib trib u u to to rs rs nam nam ed ed in in o list si oi npn th e y h a v e p ro d u ced n o th in g ca, John Burroughs, W. D. Howells and '»f " u h h ic i c h to be lie ro r o b lied bed? W o u ld ,M ax H’RGI are p ro m in en t in th e long it , ne> • sta n d . -D E A L E R S IN- /V| erch Corner Main and W ater Streets, SIL V E R T O N , O R E. Hicks & Ames D E A L E R S IN Har^^are^Tinware, Stoves, A G R IC U L T U R A L - in need o f a n o m n i po- the Companion’s C ÛIIII'HUP announcement, W which 1 . . «« A 1 • A ........ a • j « a « a «« » «11 1 A _ — — _ ClilUIll, _ 1 1 — £ _ IUU • nt god if allowed full possession w’d I* sent free to any one addressing ,i • _ T . , T he Y outh ’ s C ompanion , their ow n powers? Im p artial 205 C olum bus Ave., Boston, Mass. IM P L E M E N T S Guns, Fishing Tackle, Cutlery, Sporting Goods, Etc., Etc. SILVERTON, OREGON. Ill Secularists anybody . C o m p a n io n ^ so u v en ir c a len d a r for 1898, " nave le a rn e d th a t lesson. \\ b y a series o f'-h a rm in g figure pieces, faith- not ta k e u p th e n e x t— th e sociologic f" II-v ,.‘° i'ied in co,ors and embossed in . . . 1 0 gold, is recognized as one of the richest t i C u s ite r & D a v e n p o rt SEND US YOUR J0B W 0R K We Will Do It For You Neatly, Quickly, and • For Less Money Than You can Get It Elsewhere. 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