Torch of reason., February 24, 1898, Image 1

TORCH OF
VOL. 2.
f o r the Torch of Reason.
The Devil and Devils.
BY ISAA C A . POOL.
R eason .
SILVERTON, OREGON, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 24, iS98.
. -»• A *• -A •'
fm expressions less vehement than not believe in orthodox religion?”
those daily interred by C ol. Robt.
The
Rev.
M acA rthur said:
G. Ingersoll and his conferrees. I he
I here are going to be two big sur-
learned stars in the American pul- prises in heaven. The first will be
NO. 17.
force it is attracted to the earth ,
Acknowledging th at a spirit would
be lighter than air upon the surface
of th e earth , it could not ascend
An l gave him no “ r ib ” to be changed to won laurels and renown as orators, whom we did not expect would get led into ethereal space, the suppos-
a wife.
for m any years doubters, then there.”
ed location of heaven and the fixed
th in k ers,
then reasoners, and
Among these reverend gentlem en stars, and supposing said sp irit or
finally
an aly tical
theologians. are several well known scientists; soul travelled as fast as lig h t— 185,-
W bat has been the result? One men who have m ade astronom y, 000 miles in a second of tim e— how
can scarcely pick up a daily paper geology, biology, anthropology and long would it take to reach one of
now without seeing some liberal re- evolution a life stu d y . They have th e nearest stars, say Sirius, 50,-
ligious article th a t in m any instan- been doubters, and have been set- 000,000,000 of miles aw ay?
\Ye
How all the young Devils were m ade to
ces shocks the senses of C hristians ting m ile-posts along the line of am very certain th a t from ten to
appear,
By “ sevens” , and “ legions” , Is not very who have not kept ¡»ace with ad- liberal thought for years, with such fifty
miles
above
the earth
clear,
Unless “ self-division” was g ran te d th e vanced thought and the higher profound th in k ers as the Rev. Jo h n there is no air. and in ethereal
“ w orm ” —
criticism .
\V. Chadw ick, Daniel G. Thom p-I space absolute cold exists.
How
The style befere sex, as th e scholars
I he New York W orld has recent- s o n , G erritt P. Servis, Dr. Lewis G. long could a sp irit or soul, a ghost
affirm .
iy interview ed m any p ro m in e n t! Jam es, Win. P otts, E dw ard 1). | or angel — th eir c o m p a n io n s - li
ve
But one th in g is c erta in , th e Devils are
orthodox clergymen, asking their Cope, J.is. A. Skilton, and others. j in such a tem perature?
here,
Uncommonly plenty a t th is tim e of y e a r ; views concerning the expressions
When Dr. Abbott first began to
The only rational definition of a
Some get into congress, a th in g th a t
m ade by the Rev. Dr. Lyman A b­ express his doubts, lie is reported soul is, th a t it is the m ind and
seem s odd,
And si-me have lieen seen in th e tem ple bott.
The declarations m ade by to have said: “ We am not alw ays m ind alone. It cannot be im ­
of God.
this noted divine were th at he be­ quite sure of having faith in Jesus m ortal; it is extinguished with life,
Some women have had th e m , in days
lieved Agnostics, M oham m edans, C hrist.”
and is as evanescent as a soap bub-
long a g o ;
But th at is all past, so we let th e tale go B uddhists and Jews who were hon­
The doubters have alw ays been i hie, the tw inkling of a star, a snow­
For what it is w orth ; we are certain at est and loyal would enter t h e king­
the great factors in civilization. flake in sunlight, or a passing su n ­
last,
dom
of
heaven.
Very
n
atu
ra
lly
,
it
With Angels, not Devils, th e sex m u st
I hev have liberalized ail religious beam. How much soul has an
be classed.
caused a decided sensation in the creeds; have enlightened the world idiot, a lunatic, a savage or a bar­
Though som etim es w ith Devils these orthodox camp.
of science and art, and m ade th in k ­ barian? E ducation makes the soul
Angels will m ate,
To show that the evolving forces e rs of the lethargic.
Evolution of or mind of man or b r u te . M any of
For the fun of D ivorce an d th e good of
th e sta te ,
were not confined to th e m ind of thought has penetrated the realm i he brute creation have greater
I think it is tim e all th e D evils should
Dr. Abbott, the following reverend of theology sufficiently to impel the souls or m inds th an m any men.
skip
To a clim ate m uch w arm er, not troubled doctors were interview ed:
Rev. thinkers to reason and seriously ask Do the advocates of im m ortality
w ith grip p e.
Faunce, pastor of Fifth Avenue several im portant questions. Among desire to he placed side by side in
There’s a wide-aw ake job for th is Devil B aptist church; Rev. Sam uel U p­ them are:
(1) Is there a soul, or heaven with lunatics,idiots,savages,
of old,
And th a t is to pave his dark regions w ith ham , of Drew Theological Sem i­ spirit? (2) Is there a life hereafter? b arbarians or cu lp rits, m urderers,
gold;
nary (M ethodist); Rev. F. Mason (3) If tin re is a heaven, where is it? •hieves and vagabonds of all class­
fo r bankers and shylocks will certain ly
As scientists account for all the es, although they m ay have been
N orth, of the Church Extension
need
Some sign of th e m illio n a ires’ m ission of (M eth o d ist); Rev. W m. Lloyd, past from the various suns to the
horn again just before leaving this
greed.
pastor of C entral C ongregational present and the possible future by m undane sphere? O, no, th a t class
And Hell would seem cold to these slay- church; Rev. R. S. M acA rthur, chemical force and affinities, by at- • f sorCalled C hristians from the
ers of iriBii
With nothing to w a rm ’ th e ir am b itio n s Rev. M inot J. Savage, and Rev. R. traction, repulsion and gravitation, $10,000,000 P ro testan t Episcopal
~
IÀ a g a in ;
Heber Newton.
H ere were eight I ask in all candor, is it riot about ch u tch in New York city down to
I iiese Devils, no longer p e rm itte d to
.
.
.
._
roam,
W’ell known divines, none of whom tune to adopt a scientific reasoning our $50,000 pulpits and $100,000
" ill leave the world free as they enter h e s ita te d to corroborate the state- and try a n d d isp e l the arnhiguitv steeples would he ju st as fastidious
their home.
,
,
,
,
. .
*
ment made by Dr. Abbott. I he th a t has m ade th e C hristian world in the society of heaven as they
Rev. Minot J. Savage, who, in my so u n h ap p y for more th an 1800 are here.
For the Torch of R«n»on.
judgm ent, is one of the most pro- years?
Evolution of Thought and
CONCLUSION.
found scholars in the state, said,
W ebster defines the soul or spir-
Theology.
‘•I endorse every word Dr. Abbott it to be the life, the breath, the
The object of this paper is to in-
has said about Agnostics entering mind of m an; th e im m ortal part; duce the indifferent, the lethargic,
BY DR. S. W . W ETM O RE.
the kingdom of heaven. An Ag- an im m aterial substance. The lat- and the sem i-religious people to
The propinquity existing between nostic sim ply says he don’t know, ter is a very strange expression for think for them selves and not tak e
C hristianity and Agnosticism is so Well, who does?
A m an ’s creed so em inent a lexicographer.
How the ‘i pse d ix its’ of any m an or set
infinitesimal; in other words, the has no more to do with his going to can a su b -t.,1 ,, , be .m m aterial? of men.
S trange notions have
chasm is so broad and deep th a t heaven t h a n has the color ol his And j e t it is said th.it so great a been formed of heaven and hell,
separates the two religions or con- coat.”
th in k er as Descartes m aintained VVe have been tau g h t th a t one was
ditions of hum an th o u g h t, th a t th e
Dr. H eber Newton said: ‘‘If I ‘he definitions which evidently above, the other below. T h at one
unthinking classes n a tu ra lly aver had been saying the same from my originated in the m ind of a Romish was kept hot by G od’s w rath, the
that no relationship, or even friend- pulpit, I think I should have made scholastic b y the nam e of J homas other warmed by his love and joy-
ship, can ever exist. T he recent it even stronger. Is a m an to lie A quinas, who reigned in th e 13th ous n atu re.
past, however, reveals th e fact th a t punished eternally because be does century.
M athem atics makes no m istakes,
the evolution of th ought and theol- not pretend to know what it is irn-
If the soul is som ething, it must and science never lies, although
"gy have wrought wonders in ap- possible for him to find out? Why have a form , shape, size and weight; constantly influenced by the evolv-
proxim atingthis great desideratum , should we suppose, for instance, m atter, and hence subject to the ing forces.
If heaven, then, is in
A few years ago men were im pris- th at a m an like Col. Ingersoll is not laws of m atter, the most potent be- ethereal space, souls would cer-
°ncd and even burned at the stake going to heaven because he does ing g rav itatio n ; and by th a t m ighty tai nly freeze to death quicker th an
The story is wide of all sem blance of
tru th ,
Devised for asto u n d in g old wom en and
youth ;
And priests couldn’t win th e ir fat livings
today,
Unless these believe th e r e ’s a “ Devil
to p a y .”