2
THE TORCH OF REASON, SILVERTON, OREGON, DECEMBER 7, 1899.
why did Jesus say that he would important and best listened to of
tion; (2) Its slight variations, with F o r th e T<<r<’h o f R eason.
give whatever was called for? If it all, Prof. Wakeman, who was de-
How P ra y e rs a re A nsw ered.
the consequent chance of modifica­
is much better that the prayers of dared by the chair to be the ablest
tion; (3) Its capacity for transmit­
the saints should not be answered, exponent of our Liberal Philosophy
BY D. PRIESTLEY
ting new peculiarities. A word as
then why do they not pray him not on this continent.
to the first two of these. Simple
At the first session the following
and regularas the vital acts of pro-
The following is from “Questions to answer? If he knows better
toplasrn per se may he, they in- and Answers,” in the last Christian than we do, then our ¡»ravers are resolution, introduced by J. P.
an impertinence. According to Dr. Guild and W. A. Croffut was adopt­
volve nevertheless more or less per- Herald:
ceptible differences. Nutrition has
“Troubled One, Oberlin, Ohio.— Talmage’s idea, the only prayers ed:
its irregularities; the nutrient par- Does not the promise that whatso- that would stand any show of being
Whereas, the 17th of February
ticles are not always seized and in- ever we ask in Christ’s name hold answered would be the very humble next is the tri-centennial of the
gested at equal intervals of time good now? What am I to think petition that the Almighty would, death of Giordano Bruno, therefore
nor always on the same side; the when my prayers are not an- for Christ’s dear sake, please do as be it
Resolved, that the American Sec­
he has a mind to.
elaborated products are not always swered?”
ular Union and Freethought Feder­
The wise father does not grant ation earnestly recommends all
“Reply: God reserves to himself
disposed with perfect uniformity
from the circumference to the cen­ the right to give or withhold the every request a child makes, nor subordinate branches and kindred
ter. Variability thus appears a boon for which we pray. It is well does he promise to do so and then associations to celebrate that anni­
primitive property. As to trans­ that he does so, otherwise we might break his promise. The wise father versary in grateful recognition o f
the life and services of that fearless
mission, or heredity, it is involved suffer more than we do. He knows would think he had begotten an martyr, who was burned at the
in the fact of the reproduction of better than we do what it would be idiot if his child ¿should be crawl­ stake by the church because he ad­
individuals like the parent proto­ for our good to receive. As the ing about on his knees begging him vocated the claims of science and
plasm, as it exists at the moment; wise father does not giant every re­ for grub and clothes or any nec­ demanded the emancipation of the
thus we have another primitive quest his child makes, so God does essaries or comforts of life which human intellect.
not answer all our prayers. Even he was able to supply.
property.
It was thought best not to be at
Of course Paul did not get his the expense of a national gathering
Nor is this all. From the union so faithful a servant as Paul did
of all these properties, now num­ not get his thorn in the flesh re­ petition granted. Why did he pray ' in honor of Bruno, but Mr. Croffut,
bering seven, but more particularly moved though he asked thrice for three times? Did he expect to speaking for his Washington City
from the growth of the protoplasm, it (Cor. xxxv., 12-18.) What you worry God into acquiesence? What fraternity, cordially invited all who
from its repeated reproduction or are to think when your prayers are w’e are compelled to think, if we might care to do so to meet with
multiplication, and from its adap­ not answered is that your heavenly have the courage to think at all, them on that occasion. If not on
tion, results not the last, but the Father has some wise purpose to is that Jehovah and his son, like that particular day of the month,
most fecund and the most general serve in not granting your petition, all other gods and sons of gods are the Sunday preceding or following
of the primitive properties of proto­ and that you should acquiesce in back numbers, and that prayer is a will be fixed upou by each body as
“useless agitation of the air ”
plasm—its power of indefinite de­ his will, whatever it may be.”
they see fit.
velopment, that is progressive evo­ The Secular answer: Yes; the “ I t was b u t a helpless case. l ie had
At the Saturday afternoon meet­
seen it and m ade up his m ind,
promise is as good as it ever was
lution.
ing, the old officers were all reelect­
A nd he tu rn e d to m e roughly. ‘The
Evolution! Without which liv­ It has stood for eighteen centuries
child will need little m ore of your ed, with the addition of E. M. Mac­
c a re .’
ing beings on our planet would and has never been redeemed once.
donald as 1st vice-president. The
‘All th e m ore n e ed ,’ I told h im , ‘to seek
never perhaps have emerged from What you are to think wheu your
president recounted the situation
th e Lord Je su s in p ra y e r:
the unicellular state, and which ha> prayers are not answered is:—that They are all his ch ild ren here, a n d I pray in an offhand speech. Mr. W. B.
them all as m y o w n .’
caused the growth from the protists your prayers are not answered. B ut he for tu rn
e d to m e : ‘Ay, good w om an, Wellman, of Nashua, N. H., finan­
can p ray e r set a broken bone?’
of the vegetable and animal king­ The promise is that whatsoever you
cial secretary of the New Hamp­
m u tte re d , half to him self, b u t I
doms, of the vertebrates, and at ask you shall receive. When you T hen he
shire Secular Union, gave an inter­
knew7 th a t I h e a rd him say,
last of man. Titanic power always pray and fail to get an answer you ‘All very well, but th e good Lord Jesu s esting talk, urging the need of
has h ad his d a y !’ ”
in action, always alert, profiting by have demonstrated that the promise
harmony of action. John P. Guild
—T en n y so n .
the least circumstance, yet whim­ is a fraud or a gigantic mistake.
read a paper on “Freethought’s
sical, capricious, seemingly groping Jesus said, pray in secret and your T he A. S. U. an d F. F. C ongress. Mission and Liberals’ Labors To­
and without set purpose; employ­ Father which seeth in secret shall
day.”
ing sometimes the most insignifi­ reward you openly. The modern E ditor T orch of R eason :
Fanny Allyn and Dr. Dean
cant means and neglecting at other Christian prays openly, and when
I have just returned from the Clarke were delegates from the
times the most direct; pursuing he fails to get an open answer pre­
three days congress of the American Spiritualist camp and made some
different lines in its advance—curv­
ed lines, straight lines, crooked tends that he has received a secret Secular Union and Freethought interesting speeches. A resolution
lines, parallels, divergents—yet fre­ one. Thinking does very little Federation, and I hasten to send instructing the Board of Directors
quently arriving at the same re­ good unless you observe facts and you such account as I can.
to act in regard to a Freethought
sult; limited only by absolute im­ draw inferences from them. You
The number present was very and Secular Lecture Bureau was
possibility for the time being; hav­ are to look around and observe that
small, except Sunday afternoon adopted.
ing but one guide, that wliich is
good and directly useful to the pre- y°urs lo n°t an isolated case, That and evening, when fair audiences
The Sunday meeting was devot­
sent individual, and but one sanc­ thousands and millions are pray­ of Boston people came in to see ed principally to Ingersoll speeches,
tion—success!—[Science and Faith. ing and not one prayer is ever an­ what was going on, among them among them being the one deliver­
swered. That your prayers are not beiug Elder Johnson, of Utah, who ed by Prof. T. B. Wakeman, and
Says the /Advance: “A special answered should occasion no sur­ has been exploiting the Mormon read by President Remsburg. The
burdeu has been laid upon the prise. The surprising thing would faith on the common. However,
Boston Herald reports one of the
Christian churches of the country be if one of your prayers should be what the congress lacked in num­ speeches as follows:
to secure the expulsion of the po- answered and thus make you the bers it made up in intesity, and
“In the evening Mr. W. A. Crof-
lygamist, Brigham II. Roberts, from sole exception in the whole world, according to President Remsburg, futt described Ingersoll as “Des­
the next Congress. Unless the in all ages, all nations and all lan­ wTas the best yet convened. Tho’ troyer and Builder.” The speaker
chinches shall arouse public senti guages.
little business was done and but dealt first with Ingersoll’s private
ment to this end, it probably will
Jesus inquires whether if a child small money raised, and no out­ life, mentioned his exquisite sensi­
not be done.” /As there are teu asks for bread his father will give look for large immediate expansion
bility, his love of art, of music and
sanctions of polygamy in the Bible him a stone? The most stupidly seen, there was an almost unbroken
nature. Then he replied to the
to one passage against it, it is not pitiful hypocrisy in the world is the harmony among participants and a
statement that Ingersoll was mere-
easy to see just what ground the case of a petitioner praying for degree of mutual understanding ly a literary vandal—had destroy
Advance has for proceeding against bread and receiving the hardest reached and outside interest, by ed and had given us nothing in re­
this eminently Christian practice. kind of a stone, and ¡»retending the aid of the press, awakened to
turn, arranging the material under
What right have Christians to go that God knew that the stone would encourage all workers for our prin­
six heads. In the first place, In­
against Bible teachings, and thus agree with his digestion better than ciples. Many very interesting and
gersoll had tried to destroy the be­
fly incontinently in the face of the bread. Does he think God | instructive letters from notable
lief in hell. Instead of giving no­
Providence? Is not all scripture mistakes him for an ostrich?
friends were read, among them be- thing in its place, Ingersoll had
given by inspiration?—[Boston In­
If
God
reserves
to
himself
the
.
i°g H. L. Green, Ella E. Gibson, offered sympathy and safety in
vestigator.
rig it io give or to withhold, then ■ Mr. Yau Ness, J. D. Shaw, and most place of retribution; for a hell of