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About Torch of reason. (Silverton, Oregon) 1896-1903 | View Entire Issue (May 4, 1899)
[ W H OF VOL. 3. A Song for Thinkers. B eason . SILVERTON, OREGON, THURSDAY, MAY 4, ¡899. NO. 17. follow th e cu sto m s of th e p a s t.’’ j If, in th e co m in g g e n e ra tio n s, o u r other course could have been p u r Jefferso n , w ho sp o k e for th e d escen d a n ts sh a ll he ab le to tra v e l sued with them under the circum m inority. <1-<-1 h i «1 th a t tin- p ern .I.;¡„ a m i|f8 a „ stances. They opposed a religion could he trusted. H e said: “ Yon- ’ , . . . . AKE th e ppade of Perseverance, Her is the ocean of freedom, calm ,h ” ratlroatls. or sail in the a ir which claim s to he divine, an d was Dig the field of Progress wide; and deep. Steer the ship of state ¡about the country in balloon ships, so regarded, and as their opposition Every rotten root of faction out upon it «and ride in safety, or walk on the w ater as on the was considered to he the u n p ard o n H urry out and cast aside. Keep away from the dangerous ! ja rd j or by some “ elixir of life” able sin, they were persecuted and Every stubl>orn weed of erro r, Everwseed th a t h u rts th e soil, shoals and rocks near the shore. , existence to five h u ndred put to death in honor of the church Tares, whose every grow th is e rro r— k ee p away from the dangerous ' . Dig them out, w h a te ’er th e t o i l ! debris which the ages of s u p e r-; VHrtrs’ 8” PP‘iiS,,,g ‘hese things pos- and for the glory oi God. T heir Give th e stream of E ducation stition, ty ran n y and oppression ! ^ ’»'e and probable, they give no punishm ent as unavoidably grew’ Broader ch an n el, bolder force; have deposited there. Take your uneasiness in prospect, nor will out o f religion as effect flows from Hurl the stones of Persecution Out, w here’er they block its co u rse; longitude and latitu d e from tlie th „ . jf realized. Somehow, man- cause, and herein is involved the Seek for stren g th in self-exertion ; sun am i from the never-changing kjn(, hav(, no h<ingi()l, of d a n . radical, intrinsic, inherent, or the Work, and still have faith to w a it; stars and steer tow ard the port of . fundam ental error which has a l ('lose the crooked gate to fo rtu n e ; liberty and the rights of h u m an ity .” & er froni Physical discovers« in ways made, and alw ays will make, Make the road to honor s tra ig h t! It was the higher thought which any of the d ep artm en ts of science, religion a hindrance and a stu m Men are agents for th e fu tu re! proclaim ed that church and state but seem to rest satisfied with the bling block in the path of progress; As they work, so ages win should he separate, and th a t the conviction th at it is all for the nam ely, it forbids im provem ent. E ither harvest of advancem ent. of different . religions, . „ a . thus . . is . th . . at . in . this . . . “ If any man preach t ny o th er gos Or the product of th e ir sin. , people 1 r. .... .. . ’ as , well , , best, an it Follow out tru e c u ltiv atio n , . as o f d ifferen t n a tio n a litie s , sh o u ld , , . . , pel than this, let him he accursed.” Widen E d u catio n ’s p la n ; live peaceably and harm oniously particular, at least, the most Intel- Here, in this adm onition of a New From the m ajesty of N ature in the same country, neither inter- ligent .C hristians and all heretics T estam ent apostle, we have the Teach th e m ajesty of Man ! fering with the other, and all alike are united, as it were, on a com- spirit which has alw ays c h a ra c te r Take the spade of P erseverance, deyoted to free institutions, and as mon ground. ized religion and rendered it an in Dig the field of Progress w ide; a result we have w hat the world J B,„ wh„ n we c<lme to ..re|jgion » ju ry ra th e r th a n a blessing to Every bar to tru e instruction C arry out and cast aside ! never saw betore— not only ‘ill; . . m ankind. E stablished in an age Feed the p lan t whose fru it is W isdom ; nationalities, but the votaries of a" 11 18 called > lhe w ,lok 8c<‘ne of ignorance and superstition, and Cleanse from com m on sod th e ir c rim e; nearly all forms of religion living changes. H ere there is no pro- presum ing to he divine or perfect, And from Secular hom es of m illions side by side in peace and harm ony, gress, nor can there he in the na- religion has necessarily been a clog Soon will ring love’s h appy chim e. working for the developm ent and ture of the case, and it is sinful or h arrier to m ental im provem ent, the progress of our whole country, and wicked Io allow’ of any. Re for arro g atin g to itself perfection at Dangerous Debris. all loyal to our Hag and form ing a the sta rt, it had nothing to learn, ligion is said to he divine, and of state, the grandeur of which ba files because it claim ed to know every BA’ JO H N P . A LTG ELD . course it is a finality, for it in- I hum an conception. Greece in her thing when it commenced. B ut ~ ------ glory and Rome in her power \fludcs everything in its especial th is is folly, as the knowledge pos H IL E we were yet B ritish never dream ed of such an em d epartm ent, and cannot possibly sessed today bv m ankind has been colonies Jefferson advo- pire.—[Live Questions. be improved upon in any degree obtained by long and p atien t study, observation and experience, ▼ ’ cated the abolition of w hatever, therefore it is perfect, and therefore it is not less absurd the aristocratic system of prim o and progress where there is per to teach th a t Adam and Eve were Science and Religion. geniture and entail, and he advo fection is entirely superfluous, u n born or created a full-grown man cated the freedom of religion. necessary and out of the question. and woman than it is to claim th a t BA’ H O RA CE S E A V E K . a religion of eighteen centuries ago These propositions were received Yet (and here is the crow ning ab- cannot be im proved upon, but is with hoiror and alarm by the m a T is generally agreed, we l>e- su rd ity ) this stan d ard of moral exactly fitted for the moral and in jority and by established society. ¡¡eve, th a t the hum an race (ru th and d u ty called religion was tellectual condition of the race as They were looked upon as de- has made great progress in proclaim ed eighteen hundred years long as it shall exist. W ith just structive and he was denounced as th t arts and sciences, and it seems ago am ong an ign o ran t people in as much propriety m ight it be an enemy, but in a very brief tim e equally plain and self-evident that all obscure corner of the earth , and m aintained that the clothes of the infant are adapted to the growth the men who advocated these re- the fact excites no fear or alarm . ¡t j8 intended for, and is strictly and size of the m an, or th a t the forms constituted the m ajority and We nowhere find in civilized na- applicable to, all m ankind in all little am ount of knowledge gener controlled the governm ent. The tions that the people com plain be- a ge8 t<) Come as long as tim e shall ally possessed in ancient times is idea th at men are equal and th a t cause they are superior, in regard last, for aH j( Came from God mor- all th a t m ankind will ever require governments derive th eir just to invention and discovery, to their tai man can never improve upon in the present and future. The poor sim pleton of a courtier whom powers from the consent of the ancestors who preceded them , On it! Such is the n atu re of religion we used to read of in the story governed was born of the m inority, the contrary, they exult at the as defined by its teachers, it is hooks, who th o u g h t in his vanity was ridiculed and denounced and beneficial change and joyfully “ ac perfect all through, and conse- th at he could chain the waves, was its advocacy was even m ade a cept the situ atio n .” They eon- q u en tlv needs not and cannot have no more out in his reckoning th an those C hristians who vainly a t crime, but in tim e its advocates g ra tu la te them selves on the ma- any im provem ent. But m ankind tem pt to fasten a padlock upon the formed the m ajority and shaped terial im provem ent everywhere m ake progress in ev ery th in g else? hum an mind and keep it eternally the policy of the governm ent. visible, and the m an who at this U ndoubtedly, and they glory in in one position. It cannot bedone. During the ad m in istratio n of John day should sigh for the retu rn of the fact; yet in religion the motto The m ind will sooner or later Adams the m ajority which was the ancient age, when art and sei has alw ays been since its b irth , and throw off its tram m els, for it is a l ways restless and active, and this ttien in power favored strong cen- ence were alm ost unknow n, would ¡8 now, “ Keep as you are; remove being its nature, there can he no tralized governm ent and invested be considered as an anom aly in- not the ancient lan d m ark s of our finality to any subject of thought, the president with powers th a t deed, if not bereft of his senses, faith and worship, or the m oral as every generation will have its were destructive of liberty. H am - He would be thought to be one of world will tum ble into ru in s.” own views upon it. Hence it is ilton, speaking for the m ajority, those un fo rtu n ate people who pre- This, in substance, has neen the ,lia? the C hristiau religion, pro- said; “The people cannot he tru st fer to grope th eir way in b lin d n e s ., cry ,,f rel,g,o.i for th e last two tu ries ago, has been as unavoidably ed. Aou m ust have great c e n tra l and ignorance, as was the fate of thousand years, nearly, and when im proved as the notions of science ized power. You m ust curb the the masses of m ankind before the from time to tim e d uring th is 'lo n g th a t prevailed at th a t tim e, and in liberties of the people. Lim ited invention of the p rin tin g press and period men have appeared in these days the im provem ent of the grerttly accelerated. B ko - monarchy bottomed on corruption, the m arin er’s compass. And if E urope and opposed this religion f,,riner such as England has, is the best m ankind are not disturbed a t their on t |IF ground th a t it was im per- lh(. W()r,d jfJ now m arching) and re. government. Let the governm ent physical im provem ent over the feet and m ight be im proved, they ligion. as well as science and gov- help the rich and tru st to the rich past, so neither are they, in this were denounced as “ Infidels.” ene- ernm ent, m ust “ fall in ” or “ go to help the poor. Hug the shore; respect, in regard to the future, mies, and b u rn t to death. No under.”—[Occasional Thoughts. Revised for th e Torch o f Reason. T 1