Torch of reason., October 06, 1898, Image 1

r
'’OBCH OF
VOL. 2.
THE FUTURE.
•> f- «
The world ip young.
H E Golden Age lies onw ard,
not b eh in d .
•tf*
'/ - " r f.- - »The pathw ay through the
V-.
P ast has led us up.
The path way through the
F u tu re will lead on
And h ig h er.
W e are rising from the
beast,
U nto th e T ru th and h u m an b ro therhood.
T
X
The world is young.
W hy should we lie th e slaves of ancien t
wrong?
W hy mana«Ted by old and w orn-out lies?
W hen all th e m orrow s hang upon t(xlay ;
We, being slaves, enslave th e com ing
years.
Then let us rise to m anhood and be free.
The world is young.
The voice from o u t th e future calleth
y e t:
“ 0 , leave th e past and tu rn to me. The
past
You can n o t h e lp ; b u t all I am to be
Is su b ject u n to you, to m ake or m ar.
(), build me noble, full of Love and
T r u th .”
T he world is voung.
The sun is rising on th e Golden Age,
If we b u t do our p a rt to m ake it so.
Jf we but tig h t th e w rong, and faithful be,
And b attle for th e fu tu re, all m an k in d
Will bless us in th e days th a t are to
com e.
—[Selected.
Science and Theology.
BY JOHN WILSON.
Science and theology have existed
together from the earliest dawn of
intelligence in m an. W h e n a sav­
age proceeds to cross a river in his
canoe, or to light his fire by fric­
tion, he acts from faith in science;
he expects J hat what happened be­
fore will, u n d er the sam e circum ­
stances, happen again.
But this
faith is unconscious and in a rtic u ­
late. The eye of his m ind will
have to increase g reatly in strength
before it can perceive the universal
and invariable order of N ature,
and in the m eantim e theology
serves as a ‘‘ theory of th ings.”
In a later stage, w hen science has
com pletely supplanted theology in
the m ind, a feeling o f irritatio n is
often felt where veneration existed
before. The existence o f theology
is felt to he an im pedim ent to pro­
gress, and it is asserted th a t theol­
ogy is not only of no use, hut a
serious evil. Those especially de­
voted to the service of theology are
looked upon as a set of cunning
hypocrites, who have devised the
theological dogm as as a means of
m aking money and gaining power.
In the m ain this is u n tru e and u n ­
just. One m ight as well get angry
a t the sight of a baby’s long p etti­
coat, because he felt th a t, if he
were obliged to wear such clothes,
it would be a great obstruction, for­
getting th a t, under certain circum ­
stances, and for a time, these
clothes are a com fort and no im ped­
im ent! J u s t as the child grows its
skirts are m ade shorter, and of a
B eason .
II \ ELTO N , O R F( ON, T H l RSI AY, OCTOBER 6, 1898.
shape adapted to its needs; as war,
slavery and polygam y have come
to he recognized evils, though at
other t i m e s , and under different
circum stances, they were of use, so
with theology, it is and has been of
use to m inds in a certain state,
and, like war, slavery and poly­
gam y, will gradually die out, as,
from change of circum stances, it is
felt to he not only useless, hut an
evil. It is interesting to note the
progress th a t has been made in our
own country.
Two centuries ago
theology was a subject of such
interest to even the m ost in telli­
gent th at they took an active part
in theological discussion;
even
Newton, the greatest scientist of his
age, spent his tim e in w riting on
the Jewish prophecies. F aith in a
m an-like god and his constant per­
sonal interference in affairs was
everywhere as strong as it is now
in the Celtic parts of Ireland. Not
only did the fuith of the time ac­
cept the existence of this m an-like
god as a very grave reality, hut it
filled the world, indeed all space,
with a m ultitude of witches, fairiep,
goblins, ghosts, arg els and devils —
in short, a host of m iniature gods.
The intensitv of faith in th» ir ex-
istence, and in iheir casual connec­
tion with events, was shown by the
flames of the m any poor wretches
b u rn t on the charge of holding in ­
tercourse with them .
The most
learned judges had no hesitation in
saying th a t there could he no doubt
in the m ind of any rational c re a t­
ure as to the existence of these
beings. And certainly, if their ex­
istence could have been established
by hum an testim ony, this is true.
It m ight he tru ly said th a t, if all
the sworn testim ony as to the ex­
istence of witches and other im ag­
inary beings was w ritten, “ the
whole world could not contain the
books.”
But, though finality in belief is
just what theologians like, see w hat
a change science and her m ethods
have made in a few generations.
All th a t m ighty mass of testim ony
is swept aw ay as rubbish. Poor
creatures trying to m ake a penny
by pretending to have influence
over the unseen are sent to the
treadm ill, not as witches, but as
rogues.
This is a change due to
the influence of skepticism , as the
burning was to the influence of
faith. B etter let it alone, and leave
experience to teach the tru th .
I t is difficult to see the principle
upon which a poor gipsy fortune­
teller can be justly punished, while
clergymen, who likewise profess to
knowledge of the future and power
over the unseen, are not only not
punished for their pretensions, hut
honored on account of them . If it
is said «he one is honest and the
other d i s h o n e s t , the question arises,
How do you g e t this knowledge?
The clergym an who professes to
work on a child a t baptism an in ­
visible change, by repeating some
words and sprinkling some water,
that will save it from great danger
of eternal pain, may ho quite sin ­
cere; hut why may not the f o r t u n e ­
teller he the Same? Both processes
give pleasure to certain minds, and,
as they are not forced o n anyone,
surely both had better be left un
noticed by the law.
Only harm is done when force is
used to influence opinion.
“ Let
everyone he fully persuaded in his
own m ind.”
The fact that this
principle is now very largely acted
upon is a notable sign of t he change
wrought by science.
G rant th at
“ heretics cause eternal pain to th eir
fellow creatures,” and you justify
the contention th a t they ought to
he killed.
In the days of our fathers theol­
ogy was a very serious affair.
G reat wars were carried on and
kingdom s upset by its influence.
A theological war in Europe at
present would he an im possibility.
The answ er of any one to the ques­
tion, W hat is the use of theology?
would form erly have been th a t it
was the guide of conduct in every­
thing here, and the only ground of
hope hereafter. The value of it
seemed so great th a t everything
else was contem ptible. Now’ great
masses never enter a house of wor­
ship. Though a few have faith as
fervid as th at of our forefathers, the
great m ajority attend public wor­
ship from custom more than from
conviction; from the motive th a t it
i« esteemed, not by them selves, hut
by others, the proper thing. T h e­
ology has now become, to a great
m any, a m atter of em otion and
nothing more.
To them it is a
mere source of pleasure. It acts as
a stim ulus to the feelings, such as
awe, wonder, hope, pride; these
and other em otions are pleasantly
excited, just as m usic gives pleasure
bv exciting a p leasant flow of feel­
ing while the intelligence is at
rest.— [D ublin, Ireland.
The sciences are not sectarian.;
People do not persecute each other
on account of disagreem ent in
m athem atics. F am ilies are not d i­
vided about botany, and astronom y
does not tend to m ake a m an hate
his father and m other. It is w hat
people do not know th a t they p er­
secute each other about. Scierce,
will bring, not a sword, but peace.
— [In g erso ll.
N<>. .*'9
The Fate of the Bible.
BY HARRIET MARTINEAU.
There are m any who have a h alf
knowledge th at their religion is but
a waking dream , yet beg you will
not d isturb them . The miser would
not have you wake him to a tru e
sense of the value of his gold. To
throw’
down
his
glittering
idol
would appear to him a worse evil
th an t o take his life, for it would
deprive him a t once of all hope and
jov, and leave him utterly desolate.
The highest object of a philoso­
pher should be universality, and to
a tta in to th a t state in which we
may appreciate and enjoy all
things; recognizing the true value
and relations of every character,
condition and circum stance; our
knowledge being so full, and our
enjoym ents so high, th a t we regret
nothing. A tru ly enlightened and
noble m ind would not be subject to
grief.
But our religious system s have
done th eir part, for good and for
evil. They are now lum ber, block­
ing up the path of knowledge; th a t
knowledge which m ust push them
all out of the way. A selfish theo­
logian is not for th is age. His the­
ology prevents the adm ission of
higher tru th s, and the developm ent
of m an ’s nobler nature.
Strange
as it m ay appear, and impossible
as it m ay seem to so m any, the
C hristian religion is, in fact, and
will soon be generally, recognized
as no better th an an old wife’s
fable. Those who m ake the bible
an oracle tell us th a t the earth was
created 4,000 years before C hrist.
Science declares th a t the piece of
rock over which the waters of N i­
agara fall has taken at least 30,000
years to wear away.
I should
th in k Lyell a better au th o rity than
Moses on such a subject.
T h at
m an is of th e dust, and to the dust
returns, is tru e ; and the dust itself
m ay return to what it was before it
was d u st; b u t th a t the earth is
cursed, and th a t labor is an evil, is
not true. A nd w hat has become of
Eden, and the tree of life preserved
by the cherubim a t the eastern
gate, and by the flam ing sword
which turned every way? And it
will one day be asked w hat has be­
come of C hristianity, and M oham­
m edanism , and Judaism ,
and
B uddhism , and Fohism . The bible
will be a curious and charm ing
book for those days, when men will
be burning all rubbish of theologies
which fills our libraries.— [M an’s
N ature and Development.