THE TORCH OF REASON, SILVERTON, OREGON, NOVEMBER 2, 1899.
can not enter the kingdom of lieav- are somewhere, because the book For the Torch of Reason.
How a m in is te r of th e Gospel Ap.
Is God S ile n t?
says so.”
en
and
become
an
angel
and
be
proached a R eader of The
“ Mr. Bates, can you tell me the
BY D. PRIESTLEY.
Torch of Reason.
Bates,”
I
replied,
size,
weight
and
form
of
an
angel
“ All right, Mr
i heaven and you talk so m uch about? H ave
“
I
do
not
believe
T
orch
and
There is an an cien t story told of
To the E ditor of the
,
and
th
a
t
the
Bible
is
an
in’
angels
bodies;
if
so,
w
hat
do
they
hell
a m an w’ho was a candid ate for o r
its R eaders :—
ed book, but a book w ritten by eat and drink .
spired
Do you know th a t it is wrong to
th at.
“ A gain, doctor, I cannot a n ders in the Church of E n g lan d .
men,
and
poorly
w
ritten
at
read such a dam nable paper as the
swer, but we read of (he angels, and According to rules, he was to be ex
I
never
knew
it
However,
if
you
will
answ
er
me
a
am ined by a certain bishop; but,
Torch of Reason?
About a few* questions, to show th a t you therefore we m ust believe it.”
before, but I do now.
“ Yes, Mr. Bates, you C hristians unfortunately, th e bishop stuttered,
at Sioux Center, have proof, I will become a mem
year ago, while
m ust believe it, or C hristianity and so be sent his vicar to conduct
ber
of
vour
Reform
Dutch
Church.
*
Iowa, a certain Rev. Mr. Bates,
would fall to pieces. I do not be the exam ination. The first ques
Mr.
Bates,
you
say
no
one
unless
he
came to my store just about closing
tion which the vicar propounded
certain is a C hristian and believes and is lieve it, for I think C h ristian ity is a
tim e, having with him a
m yth, and everlastingly illustrates to the can d id ate was, “ W hy did
baptized
can
be
saved.
W
hat
be
friend, Dr. Staad, who knew of my
B aalam ’s ass sp eak?” The reply
comes of the m illions of heathens the good and bad, heaven and hell,
reading the Torch, and no doubt
to its dupes. The more money a was, “ I suppose it was because his
who
have
never
heard
of
C
h
ristian
told the faithful servant of God that
member of any church gives, the m aster had an im pedim ent in his
ity
and
those
who
lived
and
died
I was a Secularist and an ex-Cath-
better C hristian is he, and especial speech.”
before
the
birth
of
Christ?
The
olic. So the first thing he said was:
There seems to be a sim ilar rea
ly so in the C atholic ch u rch .”
w'orld
stood
thousands,
perhaps
“ Dr., I understand you read the
“ W ell,” he says, “ doctor, I m ust son why priests and preachers talk
millions, of years, then God all at
Torch of Reason; is th a t so?”
go home. I know you d o n ’t mean for God and explain his m ethod
“ Yes, sir,” was my prom pt re once thought of sending a savior to
and purposes in governing the
w hat you say. Good n ig h t.”
ply. “ Is there an y th in g wrong in redeem the world. Now’, Mr. Bates,
“ Hold on, Mr. Bates; d o n ’t go world. Even in asking the ques
did
th
a
t
savior
die
for
the
living
reading it?”
way m ad,” for he showed sig rs of tion if God is silent, it is taken for
“ Yes, sir, doctor,” he answered. and the dead, and will all previous
anger, because he was unable to granted th a t God is dum b, and
to
his
birth
and
all
others
out
of
“ It is an un-Godly, good-for-noth
th a t we must find out his m eaning
answer my questions.
ing paper; and to th in k that a man the church be lost?”
“ I hope we part friends," said I. by m eans of signs som ething like
“Yes,
all
outside
the
church
since
with the brightness of intelligence
the deaf and dum b alphabet. The
“ Oh, yes, I am not m ad.”
you have, will read such trash! C h rist’s death are lost. As to those
“ Well, Mr. Bates, we will both explanations are never scientific
previous
to
C
hrist’s
death,
I
cannot
Don’t you know it will lead you to
Here is
continue to read w hat we th in k is hut alw ays theological.
destruction. It believes in neither tell, but presum ably they are
right, and if I find an y th in g in the one of these explanatio n s as com
God, heaven nor bell, and you had saved.”
m ented upon by the Review of R e
‘‘Now M r.Bates,how do you know’ Porch th a t I don’t like, I sim ply
better stop it.”
pass it by, and if an y th in g good, I views:
I first got upon my inherited, th a t all w'ho die out of the church
“ It is a grewsome piece of reading
W hat an unjust god, will try and be benefitted by it.”
irritatin g ,
C hristian,
impulsive are lost?
which Mr. R ichard H eath presents
T hus ended the controversy.
tem per, and was going to order him to create men and dam n them for
to us under the sta rtlin g heading,
D r . L. S. S toll ,
out of the store, but my self-educat ever w ithout giving them a chance
‘Is God Silent?’ He takes strong
E x-C atholic.
ed common sense and reason came to be saved. I do not believe in
P. S.— I have not as yet become exception to Dr. Robert A nderson,
to my rescue ju st in time, and I such doctrine. F or instance, Mr.
member of M r’ B ates’ or any assistant com m issioner of police, in
spoke very kindly and in a low’ Bates, suppose tonight your house a
his ‘Silence o f G od,’ th a t ‘God never
is entered, you are overpowered, other church, but will when my
tone. I said:
questions are answered. Mr. Bates speaks to his people now.’ Mr.
“ Mr. Bates, I do not think it your infant daughter is torn from
called on me the next day, and H eath insists th a t th e voice of the
wrong to read a good paper; a pa the m other’s breast and carried to
looked over my library, half of A lm ighty is heard in the history of
per th a t believes as I do. I think some d ista n t land, where it grows
which are F reethought and Liberal individuals and nations still, es
it is really a good paper. W hile up with no knowledge of your re
books. He com plim ented me on pecially enforcing the two fu n d a
Secularism is traveling on a higher ligion, dies and goes to hell, lost
my fine selection. I told him he m ental tru th s, ‘H ereditary g u ilt
an d better paved highw ay to reach forever!”
was welcome to any of them , so he and vicarious suffering? H e illu s
He shuddered and said:
its destiny, you keep everlastingly
took an old Catholic Gospel H ym n trates his contention by reference
“ Yes, it could not he saved.”
traveling in the old, m isleading and
to the retribution which overtook
“ T hat settles it,” I said. “ I don’t Book th a t had been in the library
worn-out pathw ay which leads its
the French nobility in the hundred
followers to destruction, and their w ant anything to do with such for perhaps 20 years. As T value
such books h ard ly the space they years war for their infam ous o p
final destiny will be a great d isap an unjust god.”
“ Well, hold on,” he says. “ Doc occupy, I thought: “ 1 hope it will pression of the peasantry, and
pointm ent.
Rev. Bates, why do
which visited the A nglo-French
you come here and dictate to me, tor, I am wrong. My child w ill he please you.”
Mr. Bates has been friendly to nobility in E ngland in the W ars of
an older man than yourself? Do saved, because my wife and m yself
me ever since, hut never m entions the Roses for their b ru tal betrayal
you know I am of age and we live are both C h ristian s.”
“ Oh, th a t is it! If th a t is so, the Torch of Reason to me. Let of the common people. N ot co n
in a free country, in this the most
tent with expounding the vengeance
glorious land on earth ? I do not C h ristian ity would soon he a thing the Torch shine for the welfare of
of offended Heaven in these n a tio n
come to you and say w hat you shall of the past; for, if all children now m ankind and the world.
H u rrah for the U niversity and al judgm ents, Mr. H eath essays to
and shall not read. I do not ask living and children from C hristian
trace the same retributive trea tm en t
you, why in the world, Mr. Bates, parents were to quit the church, or Mr. W akem an and fam ily!
in the m iserable doom which over
D r . S toll .
do you read and explain the Bible com m itted m urder, adultery or sin
took fam ily after fam ily of the of
to your followers, and tell them ned otherwise, and died outside of
The law by
It is stated th a t the Rom an Cath- fending nobility.
lots of trash th a t you know nothing the church, they would he saved
about? I sim ply let you alone be and would surely go to heaven, olic priests in Belgium have suc- which th e Supretne Judge assigns
cause I don’t believe your doctrines. where, otherwise, had they lived in ceeded in having a law passed this aw ard is: ‘Thou sh alt love,’
'V 'i ? compels parents t o p r e t t a r and stern are the penalties for dis
Y et, I think you a nice gentlem an the church and violated the teach- children
no nam es other than those
and consider you my friend. Now’, ings of the church, they m ight have in lhe calen d ar of eaint8. We are obedience. A ltogether it is a grew
I think you should respect me and stood a good chance for the bad not inform ed w hat privileges are some ch ap ter in the philosophy of
enjoyed by Belgian m ule-drivers in history?
show me the same courtesy, as I place.”
The th o u g h t never occurs to the
“ Doctor, doctor, you are just try- lhe selection of nam es for their
believe in reading the style of read
it- ing to aggravate me! I know you bea8t8’ l,ut '.ru8t ‘b »t here, also, due theological m ind th a t God does, or
ing from which I receive the g re at
iat don’t mean i t ”
~ ’peCt
fo 1 le 1 calenda . should do, anything to help the op-
est light and benefit, and th a t aon i mean n .
The intellectual powers of B alaam ’s
,
»
- .
TT ,
“ Mr. Bates, can you
tell me ass were apparently on a par w ith P ^ s e d and suffering. He alw ays
which teaches the greatest tru th
“ Oh, doctor, doctorl
You are where heaven or hell is located, those of most of the prophets, and lets them d rain the b itter cup to
lost and will surely go to hell. You and how far it is? W hat is the there is no good reason evident w hy the very dregs. T heir redress is
. , , ..
. , . .
.
. ..
,
.
.
,, the descendants of th a t sacred ani- referred to some other world, and is
had better come back into the fare, or is it only one fare for all
, , , ,
.
....
...
.
,
. ,
.
,
»
m al should not enjoy all th e rig h ts to be post-m ortem . If God only
church and be saved and go to and any distance?”
due them according'to th e doctrine
heaven, for m an, he says, th at is
“ Doctor, we cannot answer those of asinine succession.— [Boston In - gets back on some one else and
thus adds to hum an m isery he is
not baptized and does not believe questions, but we must believe they vestigator.