Image provided by: Silverton Country Historical Society; Silverton, OR
About Torch of reason. (Silverton, Oregon) 1896-1903 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 3, 1899)
THE TORCH OF REASON, SILVERTON, OREGON, AUGUST 3, 1899. 4 D p f l C n n i1a-v in 3even’ tel1 thpm about i*> »rein position under what is to be a hundred and fifty miles to the K v U b O I l and teac^ thHm what pjeasPg their the hall. People going by make land of Canaan. The Rei Sea did master. It seems strange that men some odd remarks, and the Christ- not open a passage for them to The O nly P ap er of Its Kind. can be so bold, but they have |.e- ians still pray, but the timbers of march through on dry land. Jeho- Published Weekly by the Liberal Uni- coinè used to deceptio n Two things the Liberal University are being vah did not, with his finger, en- which only apply to Others are very -wung into place as fast as strong grave the ten commandments on pleasing to him : “ W h a tso e v er thy hands and willing minds of inter-j »tone, and deliver them to Moses. J E Hosmer, E d ito r hand fiudeth to do, «Io with all t y ested workers can overcome the re- nor did he and God talk face to P. W. Geer, M an ag er might,” is one, and “the Lord lov- sisting forces. Let us all lift to- face on Mount Sinai. The astro- nomical feat of Joshua with the sun eth a cheerful g iv e r,” is a n o th -r . gether! Now! and moon, on Giheon and Ajalon, Entered at the postoffice at Silverton, T h e sum a n d substance of th<* Oregon, as second-class m ail m atter. is abolished. Rams’ horns did not whole doctrine of Christianity is for A C H R IS T IA N DODGER destroy the walls of Jericho. Lot’s us poor, short-sighted sinners to SUBSCRIPTION RKTES. In the July number of Appleton’s wife was not pilloried in salt. The labor six days in the week, and One year, in advance................... $1 00 Sundays to give liberally to the Popular Science Monthly is an ar- whale did not swallow Jonah. 50 support of the Church, to the sup- fide, entitled “Scientific Method When Elisha cursed the children, Six m o nths in advance Three m onths, in a d v an c e ................ In clubs of five or m ore, one year, port of the long-sighted preachers, and its Application to the Bible.” in the name of the Lord, for mock 75 Christian writers, and other suckers The article, in some respects, is well ing him as a bald-head, two she- in ad v ance.......................................... Money should l»e sent by registered under their various Christian written, but the closing words of bears did not “come forth out oi letter or m oney order. names. Christianity has become the writer, Rev. David Sprague, the wood and tear forty-aud-lwo Notice! such a good cloak for rascals that shows the whole thing to be one of children of them.” The Lord was nearly every one who wishes to those modern Christian semi-scien- not in that line of business. Nor A h a n d pointing to th is notice denotes make believe th a t they are above tific attempts to be scientific and did Elijah go up to heaven in a tiia t your subscription lias e x p ire d . You are earn estly requested to re ordinary mortals, hasten to put it Christian at the same time, which fiery chariot. Neither Jehovah nor new so th a t you m ay receive th e pa on, and show i> off like some church• we call a Christian dodger. His the Holy Ghost ever fathered a per w ithout in te rru p tio n . We have de cided th a t it is best for all concerned going women do their new bonnet*. last sentence reads thus: “And yet child. No one was ever resurrected th a t we do not semi papers longer th an But what will be th t result of all it is a blessed thought that every after death. Wine was never made th e tim e paid for unless so ordered. Five loaves and two T his will prevent any loss and we will this? Is it not probable that, in brave, fearless effort which men of water. know just w here we sta n d . accordance with the great law of make toward finding out the truth» little fishe» never fed a multitude. We request you to send us th e nam es of Secularists who m ight becom e su b natural selection, these lower forms wit'n every help that they can get Devils enough were never cast out scribers ami we will m ail sam ple copies. will sometime drop their little from reason and a knowledge of the of one man to fill a drove of two supernatural claws and organs of past, is an effort after God.” thousand hogs. Miracles are purely THURSDAY, AUG. 3, E. M. 2 9 9 . 1 locomotion, secure their food by There never was a more unscien imaginary. All stories concerning honest labor of brain and muscle, tific thought in the world than the them are relics and romances of and become men and women in the thought of a god. The most un pre-historic imagination. The cher- M EN, W OM EN AND SU CKERS. true sense? scientific hook is the Bible, and the ubims and seraphims have stopped The ideas of the ancient forms of higher criticism in which Mr. crying. The communion of saints in reading our various exchanges and viewing from the many differ worship are becoming rudimentary, Sprague seems to have so much has ceased, and even the hones of a ent standpoints the phases of and we believe they will be en faith, is forcing all supernatural saint smell no better than those of thought along the different lines in tirely dropped, and th« pious, h u ism to the wall. We realize, how a sinner, and will cure no more the vast field of human mentality, man suckers be found no more ex ever, that as long as there is a de diseases. The kingdom of heaven we are much impressed and pleased cepting in the slimy, fossil deposits mand for such jugglery men will no longer exists. Astronomy has with the occupation of trying to of religious history, try to “carry water on both shoul consigned it to oblivion. God does discover the motives of the labors ders.” But we should be satisfied not sit on a great white throne of the world’s many workers and OU R P R O G R E S S . that the world is progressing as there, with the books open, judging writers. We think we have become rapidly as it is, and that even the dead according to their works quite expert at this pleasing, mental Some of our friends paid for their Christians are trying to use more as written in those books, and con detective work, and thinking so stock in advance, and this made it leason and less faith. signing most of them to hell. This makes it really so to us. Men possible for us to start work on the ancient realm for eternal torture of and women, as well as other ob building a little earlier than we an the damned, formerly so dear to the Too Bad for M in isters. jects of nature, can be classified in ticipated. The hammers and saws Christian heart, has lapsed into in several different ways. The classi have begun their music in earnest, nocuous desuetude by common con BY D A N IE L K. T E N N E Y . fication which strikes us as very and although we have not yet put sent. Strange assertions, in what significant is shown by the heading on as large a force as we would like, Our Christian friends, especially ever book found, or by whomsoever of this article: “Men, Women, and the work is progressing nicely. At the ministers, are becoming badly spoken, must uot be believed upon Suckers.” Some men aud women the present writing, Mr. Geer is demoralized. They are entitled to authority, but only upon proof. are real men and women. They still east of the Rockies, getting our sympathy in their affliction. Nothing supernatural ever occurred. work; their work makes the world subscribers for stock, and every They have discovered that faith Human reason is the only criterion better, or, at least, they are not liv thing points to a speedy consumma must give way to science and com of truth for human beings. Human ing entirely off of others without tion of our plan of incorporation. mon sense. To them it seems very experience is the best guide to con trying to give something in return. There is much dependent on the grievous. By this means they have duct. These, and many others of Farmers, teachers, merchants, completion of our building this lost their barbarian God Jehovah, like import, are the conclusions of printers, doctors, lawyers, mechan year, and its completion is being the image of themselves, their virgin- honest clerical thought. Even our ics, and common laborers, all are mdcb hindered right now for the born Savior, their Holy Ghost and Unitarian friends, who started out giving something in exchange for ‘ want of a little money to hire more their revealed word of God. No in the joyful companionship of the ejr oar am c o te s , and the carpenters, and buy the necessary one remains to listen to prayers or one God Jehovah, rejecting his two urp us cas some o t em are put- material. It is taking more time to to answer them. All is now myth trinitarian companions, have now n-L- ' 4 H raln} Y* But the 8et the necessary stock subscribed and mystery. The Bible is not rejected him also, and are affiliat- ers, w o are t ej , re they in order to incorporate, incornorate. than than we wa holy, butfull of holes. The creation ing with a better specimen, “The not those of whom it may be said, can well afford, but it can’t be story in Genesis is a chimera. The power, not ourselves, that makes “they toil not, neither do they spin?” helped, and we hope that “the Lord Lord God did not create the first for righteousness.” —[Freethought /ome of them call themselves will provide’ some way for us to go pair, nor make coats of skins to Magazine God s servants and they believe in on with our work, without any clothe them. Nor did he walk in the doctrine that his “yoke is easy damaging delays. As we write, we the garden with them in the cool of Every time you strike a child you an« his burden light. They make look out of our window and see one the day. There was no fall of man. admit your incapacity to govern the poor workers, who scarcely have story more of the frame-work up. Noah did not have a flood. There yourself or others. time to get a t the truth of things, The big joists are being hoisted to were bulrushes in Egypt, but no Every violation of truth is not believe that their god needs repre . .. , , , their place by a powerful derrick. Moses. No two million Israelites only a sort of «uicide in t the liar, h t T °" T ' ? "d S° The big Cen‘er «irdere' wi,b ^ ¡ r 'e v e r lived in the land of Goshen, but is a su b a the health of i u ' they gather the.people together one ¡fine turned posts and massive caps, nor spent forty years in exodusting, man society TfAf-f’ l l I orcn of OI