Image provided by: Silverton Country Historical Society; Silverton, OR
About Torch of reason. (Silverton, Oregon) 1896-1903 | View Entire Issue (March 3, 1898)
* VOL. 2. —w»*.* '•'•«r-M « - - nu •: -n » » .-,•»> . «w * u -J ; - a - wu For the Torch of Benson. «*/».. K * j. S IL V E R T O N , OREGON, TH U R SD A Y , M ARCH 3, 1898. Í . -- ««MM«aÿi'1»'•! I- .«» ■ • — -«> , w ...ma,J- •<« 4 < ■ «r >• NO. 18. would call it, “ A Tale of the Woe dependent is created and proves the Nature Governed by Law. of Assumed Prem ises’’, for of all existence of a creato r.” BY’ JO H N W . D R A P E R . This is a sam ple of C hristian log the tw isting and turning, stru g BY WILLARD MATTHEW PHARES. gling with words to m ake them ic. Upon sim ilar premises we can Has the great shadeless desert The golden m oon’s incessant rays of light prove the existence of the m an in Kell soft across my pathw ay, and her mean som ething when they will the moon, or a n y th in g else. A de nothing to do with the habits of x l>eams not, and resorting to fallacious tribes who pitch Of Aeetrous light were rhym es w ithin pendent existence proves a great th e nóm ade m ethods of thought, the theologians my soul. creator. This creator is not depend th eir ten ts upon i t — the fertile Sit as I will, today, th e harm ony give us the most stupendous efforts. Of night still burns w ith in m y h e a rt; ent, therefore self-existent. The plain no connection with flocks I hey say, “ All existence is neces the skies self-existent creator is so independ and pastoral life— the m ountain Were streaked w ith tin ts of som bre hue, sary or contingent.” and now ent th a t he does not need to be ac fastnesses w ith the courage th a t has Perhaps this m eans th a t some ex The earth is gem m ed w ith pearls of counted for, or rath e r he is so nec so often defended th e m — the sea beam ing light. istence m ust exist in order th a t Oh, th at we could as heaven sw eet, con essary th a t he is self-evident in w ith habits of adventure? Indeed, some more existence m ay exist, and tent •» do not all our expectations of the Ourselves by giving rays of light — th an if so it is hard to u n d erstan d where logic, and it is not legitim ate to ask dark why only one self-existent en tity stab ility of social in stitu tio n s rest logic would give us a startin g point And grey, until in N a tu re ’s fold secure. upon our belief in the stab ility of Should vestures of decay come stealing at which some existence was so nec when it was not existent took into ciuse, its thought a desire to become ex su rrounding physical conditions? essary th a t it was self-existent. We can but fear, yet why should we dis istent. A slush of fallacy! A From the time of Bodin, who near m ay? But the m an says, “ Necessary ex Could we but know th e secrets of th e air. dam nable nonsense which has be ly three hundred years ago pub istence is absolute, and contingent As we do solve th e w orkings of th e m ind, fogged the m inds of men and kept lished his work, “ De R epública,’ We then would tin«! th a t love is “ all in existence is dependent.” them in the m ists of u ncertainty, principles have been well rec a ll” Now’ this is certain ly very clear Of heaven’s peace and fullest rest s u b sorrow and insanity. A woe to the ognized: th a t the laws of nat tire lime. and the m eaning very plain! It As air is im m aterial to our eye, world which can n o t be measured. cannot lie subordinated to the will means th a t it is necessary for some We do not see it, b u t we feel her soft A sorrow to the race greater th an of m an, and that governm ent m ust Reflections as we go, and are aw are existence to he so dependent th a t it Of living breath upon our cheeks, th a t m ind can know or reason m easure. be adapted to clim ate. It was these is absolute or independent in order gives 1 iiis recalls to my m ind sim ilar things which led him to the con The ruddv youth his stre n g th and grace th a t some other existence mav be its pride. logic used by Prof. F. G. W right, clusion th a t force is best resorted to Yet vilely som e will foul her b rea th so contingent or dependent. Now this who is no doubt an honest stu d en t for northern nations, reason for the pure is a conclusion which cannot be es With oaths, whose bases are unch aste, of science, hut who cannot afihrd to m iddle, and superstition for the caped! corrupt. he free and hold his ch air in a southern. Come sit w ith m ein N a tu re ’s realm , and The w riter continues: “ Absolute In the m onth of March the sun th in k C hristian college. Prof. W rig h t’s existence is self-existence, infinite Of your existence h e re ; of your divine hook,“ Logic of C hristian Evidence,” crosses the equator, dispensing his Purport and end ; reflect, and pass with and om nipotent.” me is used in m any schools as a te x t rays more a b u n d a n tly over our Now this is axiom atic, and while From life’s great stage, a m an com plete Following book. In it is used the old watch no rth ern hem isphere. w ithin it plays an im portant part in the The bounds of m ental care and N a tu re ’s argum ent of Pa ley to prove design. his train , a wave of verdure ex syllogism, it needs no proof, for it is laws. The lu x It runs: A m an finds a watch. He pands toward the pole. self-evident. It is as ¡»lain to the has never seen the like before. It uriance is in proportion to the local For the Torch of Reason. su p ern atu ralist as, the sum of the is surely no chance production. It brilliancy. T he anim al world is p arts are equal to th e whole. The Old Doctor’s Notes. Pressed forward, or must come from the hand of an in also affected. Now the next stop is easy, for he telligent designer. He looks aliout solicited onward by the w arm th, says: “ The necessary or absolute BY C. ELTON B L A N C H A R D and finds the m aker of the watch. the birds of passage com m ence th eir being is Jehovah, who created all He discovers th a t man is also more annual m igration, keeping pace n Since the last report of the conti 11gent ex i ste n ce. wonderful th an the watch. He too with the developing vegetation b e You see, in order to m ake the Bohemian Evening devoted to m ust have a m aker, a ml In* traces n eath. As sum m er declines, th is whole puzzle fit together this is an Mysticism, the young men have this origin to God. Here they stop. orderly advance of ! ght and life is im portant discovery. 'Phis is the I>et us go a little farth er. The followed by an orderly retreat, and 'pent several very profitable hours sam e Jehovah who form erly loved in its turn the southern hem isphere with the Old Doctor, and I shall only the Jews, but w’ho created all investigator looks the m atter over and finds th a t God is more w onder presents the same glorious phenom now send you from week to week other races th at be m ight enjoy ful th an m an, and his wonderful enon. Once every year the life of ''»me of the thoughts brought out their tortures in the fires of hell. I ways are past finding out, so the the earth pulsates; now there is an hv Dr. Brown in his conversations do not know how the preachers ex bible says. In fact he is so won abounding vitality, now a desola plain the former had character of But w hat is the cause of all with the Bohemian boys. I cannot derful th a t he needs no creator. tion. Jeh o v ah , nor do I understand their He is self-existent! Js it not this? It is only m echanical. The bone to give * vou a com plete report, .1 • r . i i * * 1 ’ theories of the late im provem ent ir e a r th ’s axis o f rotation is inclined since I write from m em ory or from his character, hut one thing I do strange th at people can be so wise to th e plane of her orbit of revolu and yet so foolish? meager notes such as I was able to know ; If Jehovah had lieen half ,, . . . “ My young friends,” the old doc- tion round the sun. lake during the various evenings as cunning as some of Ins m inistry, to r Bald, “ let me caution to l)e Let th a t wonderful phenom enon •pent in the Old Doctor’s cosy study, he would have destroyed Ins good sure th a t ¡n y(>ur rrag(>„ in an d its explanation be a lesson to hook, which casts so much light us: ipress ns your premises are tru th s.’’ I he editor of the Q u arterly Chris- upon his past disreputable history, wit ■af physical Ban published at N ashville, T en u ., and I would make it stronger, for I N ote .— Questions for the Old ag< cica i s. They h; •‘M n g rea d a report of the former consider the picture which the bi- Doctor can be sent to C. E lton int nd death Bohemian Evenings, published re- ble gives us of this “ necessary or B lanchard, editor C urrent Thought, of au( socially, Ex cer.tly an answer to “ Atheism and absolute” being as one of the most 802 Ansel Ave., C leveland, Ohio. i ter woven Other Infidelity.” T his article «•ontcmptiblc, im m oral, l o w - l i v e d ------------------- in periodici- and despicable of individuals, who, I conclude th a t all religions had tiei us. Day whs read to the Old Doctor by Mr. 7**7 7 .. , had he not left the earth entirely in the sam e origin, and th a t in fact am ^»•d in our p’«k. The following is his re- |j ie (,f devilt could not there has never been hut one relig w a liner and 1 y as best I can produce it: keep out of states prison in any ion in the world. The twigs and wii »it cycles H I were t» ny well regulated com m unity today, leaves may differ, hut the trunk is in • Develop- reply made I' But the final conclusion is: “The the sam e.— [R. O. Ingersoll. me In Nature’s Realm.