THE TORCH OF REASON, SILVERTON, OREGON, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 1898.
2
they could possibly roast in an
R e lig io u s I n s t in c t in M a n .
iniaginarv hell.
-----------
If those m inisters in New York
Since the publication of D arw in’s
and elsewhere who are talking so “ Origin of Species ’, th e notion th at
much about heaven and hell (of
made m an in the form lie now
which they know nothing) would has, and gave h im the faculties,
be more altruistic, honest ami characteristics ami powers th at we
ii i / ’ b i ' i j
Ife n il
¡id
\ ■< | ,
k ..
• ;<• - . r,d" i j l . l l
G/»t th*-v.. hTAV
t'1J
<1 •
V‘ • I'f' ir p . ‘ - 1 ’
m olish the superstition th a t the
power or instinct had indicated to
our fathers. And so it has been all
down the long path of history. The
delusions that have arisen from the
guesses of ignorance, have one by
one been swept away, by testing
m ent and doubts the adcaptandum
conclusions of ignorant barbarians
of ten thousand years ago.
To conclude, I will say what per-
haps I should have begun with, for
it is the text upon which I have
preached this sermon.
It is this:
’lte r;l('*‘> ’oust be them by th e -o n - 'o f materialism, Man, in common with
-•«—
,
ii t fU til.
fi i . 1 i ' . I , . I ~ I \\ O k i I ! I I > ( 11" i t ¡ f . I - .
not know an y th in g about the here-
after, they would have more respect
for themselves and all sensible peo-
pie would honor them, l'o teach
young children who are reaching
out in all directions after facts and
tru th , th a t if they do wrong they
will go to hell, is a crim e th a t
should he punishable by im prison-
m ent. They should be tau g h t to do
rig h t because it is right and the on-
ly honorable and noble life to live,
They should not do wrong because
it is a great wrong not to do right;
it is debasing,dishonoiable;and th at
they will lose their self-respect and
tin* respect of others. To frighten
a young child with the horrible
stories of bell is a flagrant wrong.
D uring th e 40 years of my profes-
sional life, I have seen more than
20 cases of lunacy idioacy, and
suicide th a t were brought about by
evangelical excitem ent. Of m ental
God did not im plant in m an an in-
There are m any things which those which are the result of the
stinct at the tim e he h ist m ade are? as ve^ m ysteries to us; hut action of his brain, stim ulated to
him a living, hret thing, feeling, nu- there is no power in man th at can motion by the perception of his
cleus of being, by which he was to fin(J a dem onstrated <>r reliable ! senses. This is knowledge. The
recognize the existence of God and tru th in m ystery by guessing at it. other is the result of the action of
the duties and responsibilities he There is a power in man that ena- his ancestors’ brains, constituting
owed to him. I know th a t Chris- hies him to investigate, to find ,he their ideas and transm itted to up
tians are now trying to reconcile tru th by th e.actio n of his m aterial through hereditary influence; it
scripture with evolution, and ad- brain, tru stin g to no theories until cannot be relied upon as true, as
m ilting th at God might take a mil- they have been dem onstrated by we know nothing of the evidence
l’on years t° make a m an, and evidence that is convincing to an ' upon which our ancestors based it.
might call th a t long lime a day of understanding mind.
[J. P. R ichardson, in Independ-
an evening and a m orning, if he
No one hut a sim pleton n o w 1 ent P ulpit,
wanted to, and th a t he gave the re- claim s th a t there is any such evi-I
lig’oue instinct to him when the deuce of gods, devils, or ghosts, or
LITTLE TORCHES.
proper tim e arrived. But th a t hv- of any other supernatural beings or
pothesis will not fit the facts th at things; and what is there left of re-
By W. E Jo h n so n .
are well known and settled.
ligion after all these are gone?
J
---------- -
A more rational theory is th a t all
I know th a t you will say there is
The purer the heart the clearer
instincts, faculties and characteris- still left the religion of good m o r-, he vision.—[1 he Bible Reader for
tics are the result of growth, als, of right conduct, of justice, of
'Lt’-uarv.
through heredity and environm ent, love and conscience, and th at th a t
Am»th< r good reason why the
T hat m an, alter tie had developed is the real foundation of religion, heart should not be defiled with the
so as to release himself from the en- But it is a m isnomer to call good “ hs< < ne, barbarous teachings of th e
wealth the paucity of teachers is tanglem ents of his lower anim al m orals religion. All these belong Bible.
deplorable. They teach as they nature, began to look around him | to the relations of m an to m an as a !
were taught, governed by custom and observed the ever-moving p h e -' social being and grow out of his
l i ' ¡ng fait h do< s not lie supine
6 ’ 6
J
, .
.
!
. .
’
, . ,
, after stum bling over the first oh-
an d society.
nom ena of N ature; being ignorant recognition of m utual rights and Stacie th a t lies in its w ay.—[Method-
First of all, children should be ! <>f the cause of these wonders, lie, as duties th at secure peace and pros- jst Recorder.
given a good thorough and liberal ignorance alw ays does, guessed that perity to the individual and the] Maybe it does not lie “ supinely” ,
ed u catio n —collegiate if possible, there must be some supernatural com m unity. But religion concerns j but it lies stupei duously just the
They should he tought self-reliance, being, or beings, who were invisible only the relation of man to God or same. W hats the difference be-
and how to think ami reason for to him , who were working these gods, and the duties it is pretended tween a “ supine” lie and the ordi-
themselves, and to do right because wonders. H e saw th a t they were he owes to him or them. It is true nary article, anyhow ?
it is right, and not because there is powerful, and he sought to secure th a t religion pretends to teach good
a yaw ning chasm waiting for them their power, <>r to placate their an- m orals, hut it is only a pretense.
The only one, in the Bible, who
if they do wrong. Keep them away 8er- And then cunning men step- It m akes morals to consist in obe- repented on his deat h-bed, died on
from all dogmas ami the Bible— pod forward, claim ing the power to dience to the com m am ls of church the cross.— [T he M idland,
p articu larly the old testam ent, if control these su p ern atu ral beings, and clergy and conform ity to cere-
But God let him die just the
they are daughters, un til they have and thus, through ignorance, fear | mony and observance of ritual ami same. If the thief was guilty of
arrived at the age of discretion and and hope, religion was born. Thus creed. The Presbyterian church in one °ue-hundredth of the atrocities
judgem ent.
Inculcate only the m ental bondage to an organized Scotland held it to be im m oral and th a t God confesses to in the old
religion of h u m an ity , i. e . , to do priesthood
became
universal, sinful to assist in saving a ship- testam ent, he certain ly had much
good, and the Golden Ruie which These wild and ignorant guesses! wrecked vessel on S undays, and I to repent of.
Jesus is said to have taught. The became established belief,
and , have heard a m inister declaim
----
Golden Rule is a n atu ral religion, through hereditary influence were against the im m orality of our Ger-
L ast accounts received are favor-
a pure religion, born in the hum an tran sm itted to their descendants man citizens who spend Sunday en- able regarding our secretary >
h eart, and the best rule, guide and through thousands of generations, joying them selves with tneir fann- niercies given.— [M orning
star,
religion of life. It was enunciated and became instincts, or, in other lies a t a picnic.
W ith religious
If you “ thank God” for the “good
and practiced back of the pyram ids words, “ the power in m an” th at lit- people the question of good m orals h ea lth ” of your secretary, who are
in pre-historic times when parents tie narrow C hristians think is evi- is alw ays secondary to religious you to th an k for his bad health.
tau g h t their children to he tru th fu l, deuce of the existence of gods, dogm as, and everything th a t is not If God is able to give a man good
pure, faithful, and kind to each ghosts, devils, and all the p arap h ar , religious
. . is im m oral. How m any . health, he m ust certainly be a con-
other. Coufucius says, “ Thou only «alia of guessed-at nothings, and C hristians do you suppose there are tem ptable wretch to inflict one of
needest th is law alone; it is t h e 1 S0’Ca ,,ed sp iritu al religion.
in this country who would de- his children with sickness
foundation and principle of all the
W hat we have learned of elec- nounce 1 hi« w riting as an immoral
rest.” I f children are taught to tricity has shown the folly, absurd- aet? Yes, and they would vote for
A P s y c h o lo g ic a l P ro b le m .
alw ays tell the tru th , to he honest ity and falseness of our fathers’ no- a *aw to Pu n ^ h it if such a law
in everything, to be kind to their tions.
O ur ancestors saw the ac- »houhl be subm itted to the people.
W hether such rascals as Roek-
coinrades, to be pure in all their tion of electricity, and as they did
Religion is alw ays the enem y of efeller, who donate a sm all per-
t bought«, obeying the laws of not understand it they guessed a t a good m orals, in all cases where it centage of their stealings to God,
morals, body, and m ind, they can- cause—or jum ped at the conclusion cannot be m ade to promote b e lie f'a re trying to fool God or to fool the
not help learn
the true love of th at it was supernatural. In the in dogm as th a t are in them selves people, or are decieving themselves,
tru th , a m anly
love of m ankind lightning they saw a holt thrown im m oral.
i«. a psychological problem of con-
and a right and holy love of tight- directly from the hand of God; and
There is no power in m an th a t siderable interest. The teaching of
eousness, and this planet will be in the roar of th e th u n d er they 7 K
* 1 1 1 enable
fi »1 U 1 k 1 O K
ir»*» In
knnlr»r»Li.. 1 dogmas instead of
nt direct
zlircft
will
him
to fir»s1
find Im
tru lk
th in
in a o I theological
covered with noble and useful men heard his angry voice. But mod­ m ystery th at he don't u n d erstan d ; tru th , has created all kinds of mor-
and women.
ern m an, discarding the power th a t but there is a power of investiga- al and im m oral m onstrosities, that
led him into such delusions, inves- tion th at will help him to resolve would require an experienced nat-
Paper horseshoes are said to last tigated, studied and thought, and the m ysterv or find the tru th , if in u ra lis tto c la s s ify .—[N ew I)ispen?a-
longer than those made of m etal, (the result has been to utterly de-, the m eantim e he suspends judg- tion.