4
THE TORCH OF REASON, SILVERTON, OREGON, AUGUST 10, 1899.
GOD'S M IST A K E S.
first class, and high, happy m oral right. But the lesson of one’s own
characters furnish one of the envi- fallibility once b-arned and the
It is n atu ra l to suppose th a t a
ronm ents to beget like characters learner has reached a very desira-
The Only Paper of Its Kind.
god would do a good job whenever
in others.
Me position in his evolution.
There are those whose aatu res
It ie very evident th a t any sys- | he undertakes to do one at all, but
Published W eekly by th e Liberal I. ni
versitv C om pany, in the In terests of
are so had th a t no am ount of favor- tern of train in g th a t will hasten what is one’s surprise to find th a t
C onstructive, Moral Secularism .
'a b le conditions could make th eir this knowledge of one’s own true even the great, big god of the C h rist­
ians has in some ways made the
J. E. H osm er,....................... Editor ‘ lives count on the right side. Oth- m ental position, is a great hlessir\g most egregious blunders! In m ak­
P. W. G eer,........................M anager era there are who are born under to the world, and that any system ing man perfect and then d a m n irg
such favorable conditions th a t no which enhances the opposite, i. e.,
him and his rib-wife for being so
E ntered at th e postoffice at Silverton, am ount of adverse conditions seems the obnoxious idea of eel f-in fall ibil-
Oregon, as second-class m ail m atter.
able to defeat their influence for ity and bigotry, is a very great imperfect as to yield to the first
snaky tem ptation was, perhaps, the
good. There are all grades and curse.
SUBSCRIPTION RATES.
conditions between these extrem es
Now there are two very distinct first great m istake of this om nipo­
tent power, unless his long, long,
One year, in ad v an ce..........................$1 M of inherited moral power ami weak- and opposite system s at work in
Six m onths in a d v an c e ....................
ness, and there are m any who are the world. One is religion and the lazy sleep before the creation he
T hree m onths, in a d v an c e ................
-5
on an exact balance between the other is science. Religion knows, ! counted against him. But we th in k
In clubs of five or m ore, one year,
in a d v an c e ..........................................
two. A word, an expression of the Its propositions are absolute.
It th at his laziness m ust have been
.Money should l>e sent by registered
face m ay be the necessary weight holds th at a god created the u n i­ hereditary, and therefore excusable,
le tte r or m oney order.
te balance m any lives for good or verse; that its holy hook is infalli- and so about eight days ago (you
for evil, for one glance m ay decide hie; th a t its savior m ust be accept- know* one day is as a thousand
Notice!
an im portant action in one life th at ed or hell and dam nation will years with the L ord), he woke up
A h a n d pointing to th is notice denotes will influence others who in their follow. The god of the C hristians, and began to make things, and he
th a t your su b scrip tio n has e x p ire d . tu rn will influence others, and so w her the people were curious to really did some pretty fair work as
You are e arn estly requested to re ­
new so th a t you m ay receive th e p a ­ on ail infinitum . T hus have we all know more about him , is represent- long as he confined him self to m ak­
per w ithout in te rru p tio n . W e have d e­ been formed, both in ch aracter of ed as saying, “ I am th at I a m ’’, ing worms, the beasts of the field
cided th a t it is best for all concerned
th a t we do not send papers longer th a n m ind and body, and bow im port- W hat would a soldier do, when on and fowls of the air, but when it
th e tim e paid for unless so ord ered . a n t it is to the happiness of coming picket duty, on calling out, “ H a l’! came to m aking men and women,
This will prevent any loss and we will
generations th at the men and wo- Who goes there?” to one passing we’ll he blessed if he d id n ’t m ake a
know just where we sta n d .
We request you to send us th e nam es men of our time “ act well th e ir ; his way, if the reply came, “ I am flat failure.
Adam would have
of Secularists who m ight become su b ­
Are we hypocrites? then th at I a m ”, or the synonym ous ex­ probably been all right but the best
scribers and we will m ail sam ple copies. p a rt” .
will the world see another crop of pression, “ None of your business’’? part of him was gone after Eve was
Are we The son of god is represented as be- made, and he d id n ’t seem to have
THURSDAY, AUG. io, E. M. 299- these pestiferous beings.
try in g to lay up treasures for our- ' ing equally im pudent and evasive, the same moTal backbone th at lie
selves? I)o we have gloomy, pain- W hen a young soldier of life’s b a t­ did before one of his floating ribs
T W E N T Y -T H IR D PSA LM .
ful or b rutal feelings? our actions tie hears of Jesus C hrist and tries was unhinged from his spinal col­
will index our thoughts, and not to find out who and w hat he is, um n, and, although the operation
We are not sheep and fear no w ant,
For “ labor conquers a ll” .
only will our offspring, if any are what a vague, unsatisfactory, con- was detrim ental to his character,
To lie us down in p astu res green
so unfortunate as to bless(?) us, fusing, contradictory explanation the rib selected seemed to be a very
We do not care a t all.
but those whose characters are af­ he gets. He is the son of th e Great weak one.
We are not le d ; we stand ere ct;
But the L o rd ’s next great blunder
fected by com ing in contact with I Am, the son of a virgin, the son
W e’ll have no souls restored.
We do our best to do th e rig h t—
us, will have and produce the of a ghost. The more one follows fixed things up in such a way th at
The gods no m ore afford.
all have to run the risk of m iss­
same. But the opposite also is true, such an exam ple, the more bigoted,
W e fear not d eath nor evil m en,
and how glad the true lovers of our evasive and unscientific he becomes, ing the glorious chance of ever even
For fear is for th e slave.
T he stall’ of T ru th and Ju s tic e ’s rod,
race are to discover th a t the great hut we are tau g h t th a t these things seeing this “great I am .” In a care­
less moment he m ade the devil, and
T hey com fort, bless an d save.
universal law is the survival of the are so and need no proof. They th a t did fix things. It seems t> us
A feast is spread ; we all m ay eat
fittest. Are we honest? who can are not m atters of reason; when we poor degenerate Infidels th a t a ten
Of K now ledge’s precious fruits,
T he oil and wine in Science’s cup
m easure our influence for good? once hear them then we m ust be­ year old child would have known
C hange m en from cringing b ru tes.
W hen we make m istakes are we lieve them . C hristians have ears, better, but “ th an k God” there is no
account of the devil having a wife
So we will love th e good and tru e,
ready to make reparation and hut hear n au g h t but “ Jesus and
And forfeit freedom n ever;
m ade out of one of his ribs, and so
H ave we him crucified”. They may talk of it is better th an it m ight have been.
Sweet hom es on e a rth , with love d ivine, avoid their repetition?
W e’ll p e rp e tu a te forever.
the self-respect and self-control reason, but faith adm its of nothing After considerable trouble with m an,
which alone can insure happiness? of the kind.
“ Jesus paid it all n woman and the devil, God made up
Are we trying to make the world and so their du ty * to their fellow* his mind to publish a book, and not
P E R P E T U IT Y OF C H A R A C TER .
better, and in spite of all inherited men consists only in shouting the having yet learned the art of p rin t­
ing with the linotype, he decided to
There are as m any different c h a r­ weaknesses and outside evil influ- praises of Jesus. “ W hat will you skin some of his surplus beasts of
acters as there are hum an beings, ences are we in harm ony with the do with Jesus?” seems to be a spe- the field and write with a stick on
and yet, like the m any flowers, laws of n atu re and with n a tu re ’s cies of argum ent th a t all the knowl- their skins; but it takes a god some
If so, who edge of facts can not disarm . Ig- tim e to get fully awake, and so he
these characters can he classified highest productions?
sat back on his dignity and rested,
for the convenience of study. The can determ ine the boundary of our norance and love of ignorance is while his servants, Moses, Jerem iah,
two great divisions of the em otions estate of good influence, though we a hard fort to b atter down,
Job, David, Solomon, Jo h n , Paul
be
one
of
the
lesser
stockholders
in
g
^
,
,
re8(8
„
ol
„
„
,
he
|nere
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g.
are painful feelings and pleasant
and other priests, wrote the book
feelings, and as our wills and intel­ th e grand dom ain of the world’s 8ertion3 (){ wise men ail(J godg T he for him.
Ah, here is where God m ade one
,
, ,
lects are based on our fellings and progress?
1 e
world is supposed to be round, but of his most fatal m istakes!
His
largely governed by them , our
-------- ----------
th e most devout followers of Science book was w ritten in such an idiotic
characters are prim arily formed
RESEARCH VS. BIGOTRY.
would not feel h u rt to find th a t it fashion, th at scholars have been
by a com bination of painful and
is square, nor would they persecute working for ages trying to find out
pleasurable sensations. If happy,
A D utchm an is represented as or boycott those who endeavor to w hat it means. Then again, after
inspiring surroundings are suffic­ saying, “ The longer one lives the fiud any of the present ideas of it is perfectly translated, it seems a
poor m iserable excuse as a guide for
ient to overcome our inherited more he find by Yesus C hrist oud” ; scientific men to be in error. Science
his aggressive, fallen creatures who
weaknesses,
or
our
inherited and it does seem th a t one can learn is not organized bigotry, and if the have eaten of the tree of knowledge.
strength is sufficient to force our q u ite a good deal if he only knows world is to advance to a realization If the W ord of God is the word of a
surrounding« into serving our how and really lives long enough, of its weaknesses and its powers, god it should be all sufficient for the
pleasure and service to the world, One of the most useful lessons, and and to a position from which it can directions of his creatures through
we are happy, and our characters perhaps one of the 'ast to he learn- rapidly evolve to higher things, the this “ vale of tears,” but it is not a
safe guide in anything. Take away
m ay be placed in the first great d i­ ed, is one’s own ignorance and in- young must be scientifically edu- our Secular hooks, inspired by the
vision.
Like begets like; p leasu r­ capacity. One is apt to think bis ealed, unfettered by the rusty love of tru th , and what would we
able p ren atal conditions produce own little judgm ent unm lskably chains of the bigoted, superstitious, he hut holy barbarians, w orshiping
pleasurable tendencies; pleasurable correct and any contradictory idea unscientific, reason-destroying re- a barbarous god at the m andate of
barbarous priests and kings?
em otions produce characters of the' perfectly antagonistic to tru th and ligions.
The Bible is not a safe guide in
Torch of Reason