T H E TORCH OF REASON, SIL V E R T O N , OREGON , TH U RSD A Y , OCTOBER 6, 1S98.
The Philosopher.
ing them to gloat over t h e wounds,
agony and death of an innocent
person, because these sufferings of
the innocent one save them from
punishm ent.
How much more
noble, more m orally brave, more
careful of conduct, more tru th fu l
and more ju st to hum anity would
what are called C hristian nations
have been had they not, from child
hood, been taught th at they could
unload their sins upon the shoul
ders of a sinless one.
The tru ly m orally brave, had
they been consulted about it, would
have declined to have another bear
the burden of th eir sins, and so
m ight have saved the creative
power in part, or as a whole, from
a cruel death.
I believe th at F reethinkers, Sec
ularists and Liberals now decline . . .
to accept any benefit from this cru- j
citixion.
I, for one, do.
If, bv
some hocus pocus of ju d g m en t my
soul, or, as the M ethodist catechism
has it, the “ breath of G od,” in I
stained by A dam ’s act, I will bear
the consequence myself. I will not
be a party to the suffeiings of the
“ Lam b.” My soul, which makes
no protest, m ust bear it.
I know
th a t at d eath , th a t by which my
life m anifests itself, by which I feel
and have sensation, muscles, nerves
and brain, will, in a dream ier»
sleep, be com fortably tucked a ax-
in the grave, w aiting for t h e resur
rection in “ grass and flower.”
1 am a t a loss to know whether I
am to pity, or rejoice with my in
visible, im m aterial soul or spirit. I
can get no lesponse from it. If, as
the M ethodist catechism says, the
soul is the “ breath of God,” it, after
all, may not he in need of much
pity.
M. M. T urner .
[ The following poem was sent by
Mrs. T urner to show the C h ristian ’s
views. We publish it as an accom
panim ent to the above article. It
is quite poetical hut strictly bar
barous.— E d .J
The Inexorable God.
The board walk, or esplanade, at
A tlantic City, N. J , forty feet wide
hot for a short distance at either
end, and four miles long, supported
by iron piers sunk in the sand and
bound together by iron girders, on
the sea side a strong protecting
railing of iron tubes two or more
inches in diam eter, with openings
at intervals where steps lead to the
beach, is the pride and boast of the
city.
On the one side the ocean
stretches to the lim it of vision, its
waters sm oothing in the distance
and colored to suit the hour, a gray
expanse, a sheet of dancing silver,
or pearly blue, reflecting the sunset
hues, and varying in m o o d s , resting
dream ily under a slight veil of
mist, roused to energy and industry,
or proudly displaying its powers
and majesty.
W here the friction of motion
topples the lifted water over, break
ing it into sheets of spray when
the waves are high, or edging sm al
ler ones with lacy whiteness, and
having played their part they hurry
home, there groups of men, women
and happy children are to be seen,
eith er on the sand or in the ocean,
playing with the waves.
On the esplanade is a moving
throng, with pleasure, happiness
health or the search for health as
the incentive.
On the landw ard
side adjoining, and on the same
level, are booths of all sizes and
pretensions, occupied by represent
atives of most of the industrial
nations of the earth , and by speci
mens of their varied industries,
from the sm allest and quaintest
toy to the most elaborate and beau
tiful a rt work, or by various con
trivances to am use and astonish at
an adm ission fee of 10 cents each.
Going one day into the “ Tokyo
B azaar,” I asked the d ark-skinned,
black-haired, bright-eyed gentlem an
who waited on me some questions
about his goods.
These were an
swered in such good English th a t I
asked: ‘ How long have you been (), blessed feet of Je su s, weary with
seeking me,
in
this
c o u n try ? ”
“ Thirteen S tand a t G o d ’s bar of judgm ent and in
tercede for me.
years.” “ Do you call yourself an
A m erican ?” “ I a in a Japanese.” O, knees which lient in anguish in «lark t l / !
sem an e,
“ H ave you become a convert to the K neel G a t eth
th e th ro n e of glory am i inter-
theology of this country ?
I am a
cede for me.
philosopher.” “ I a m a philosopher G, hands th a t were ex te n d ed upon the \VZ!
awful tree,
m yself.” “ I would like to know
Hold up those precious n a il-p rin ts and
where your philosophy leads you.”
in terced e for me.
“ Very deep; very d e e p ” “ W hat
G, side from whence th e sp ear-p o in t
do you think of the Adam and Eve
b rought blood and w ater free,
For
healing
and for cleansing, still in te r
story; the punishing of all for the
cede for me.
sin of o n e?”
“ It is barbarous;
G, head so deeply pierced with th o rn s
harha rolls.”
th a t sh a rp e st lx*,
This “ b a rb a ro u s” teaching in Bend low l»efore thy fath e r and intercede
for m e.
one nr the other of its various and
differing forms, perhaps all of them , G, sacred h e a rt, such sorrow s th e world
m ay never see,
is w hat the m issionaries take to As th a t which gave th e w a rran t to in te r
cede for me.
foreign nations, teaching them to
love and worship a god whose G, bodv scarred and w o u m k d , my sacri *
fice to t>e,
‘ w rath and c u rse ” (as the cate P re se n t th y perfect offering and in te r
cede for me.
chism s say) is upon all the peoples
of the earth , because he was angered G, loving, risen Saviour, from d eath and
sorrow free,
by one act (in itself most desirable)
Though
th ro n ed in endless glory, still
of the creature he had newly made
intercede for me.
out of the dust o f the earth ; teach- ,
—[Selected.
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P R E S ID E N T ,
S ilverton .
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