4
T H E TORCH OF REASON, SIL V E R T O N , OREGON, JA N U A R Y 25, 1900.
to appreciate one’s surroundings who have listened to her instruc-
and advantages, and power of doing tions and played with her “ gifts’’
good, are certainly the true test of cannot help but pity the little
w ealth; and this we can all have heathen children who have come
if we will only learn how.
up under the false teachings of the
Secular education will give us the old superstitious medicine-men, or
broadest view of life of which we been left w ithout any instruction
are capable. Instead of accounting to ignorance and any chance empir-
for the causes of good and evil by ical notion with which they m ight
supposing th a t there is a god ruling drift in contact.
the one and a devil ruling the
B ut our work of destroying these
other, it gets down into the true false religious notions m ust go hand
causes of things and thus broadens in hand with the great work of
and gives capacity to enjoy. This organizing; and perhaps it is true,
is true wealth, and those who are as m any of o*ur best workers believe,
S u S b i Ä v a n ie :
BC 'bere being n o g u id e .n o aim, and struggling to possess the other kind th a t the most of o u r strength
T hree m o n th s, in a d v an c e ................
25 no unity of action.
are on the road th a t leads to the should now be u.-ed in constructive
In clubs of five or m ore, one y ear,
establishm ent of the Liberal most abject poverty. Life is short, work, and th u s n a tu ra lly crowd
in a d v a n c e ..........................................
;
M oney should be sent by registered U niversity m arks an epoch in the yet it is long enough to do a great out the old creeds. The ground
le tte r or m oney order.
history of F reethought. I t means work for the future men and wo­ has been p re tty well broken up.
a scientific, definite plan and a men who are soon to laud on the There are m any Liberals and lib­
Notice!
definite understanding. It m eans shores of this heaven or hell th a t eral books in the world, and the
the education of workers along this we are preparing for them .
thing to do now is to build on and
A h a n d poin tin g to th is notice denotes definite plan w hich m eans the con­
In the fabled account of God’s cultivate the ground th a t has
th a t your su b scrip tio n h as e x p ire d .
You are e arn estly requested to re­ version of the world to higher and work of creation, the happiest tim e been cleared or it will grow up to
new so th a t you m ay receive th e pa­ better things.
We m ust not be of his life m ust have been when he weeds and be as bad or worse th an
per w ith o u t in te rru p tio n . We have de­
cided th a t it is b est for all concerned understood as m eaning th a t this was working day by day and saw before. T hus our own reform of
th a t we do n o t send papers longer th a n definite plan m eans any creed th at th a t “ it was good,” and the clim ax liberating the slaves of superstition
th e tim e paid for unless so ordered.
T his will p rev en t any loss am i we will is u n alterab ly fixed nor th a t it of his happiness m pst have been now needs to be reformed and con­
know just w here we sta n d .
doesn’t provide for the highest and reached when he had finished and structive, educational, m oral Secu­
We request you to send us th e nam es
of Secularists who m ight becom e su b ­ broadest expansion. Science always said to himself, “ it is good.” But larism is th e only reform th a t can
scribers and we will m ail sam ple copies. provides for growth, but the beauty w hat sorrow he m ust have e x p e ri-' reform it.
And so while we say
of her work is th at it is definite.
enced when he saw th a t he had not Luo! Luo! we m ust remember th at
There are now several Secular eaten sufficient of the “ tree of to set the slaves of superstition
unions, churches and Sunday knowledge” him self, and th a t his free w ithout helping them to know
how to use th eir liberty aright, is
SE C U L A R CH U R C H ES A N D S U N ­ schools but there is as yet no plan. work after all was a failure.
Each organization is left to its own
D A Y SCHOOL.
We m ust eat of the tree, and only m aking a bad m atter worse.
resources, and if the leaders are become wiser th an the gods of old.
Luo! Dirigo! We must set free
Several friends have ’w ritten in “ sp iritu a lly ” weak the organization We m ust build a garden of Eden and we must guide!
regard to the organization of Secu­ is thus colored, and soon becomes and be wise enough not to forbid
lar churches and Sunday schools, far from Secular, or dies for want the little A dam s and Eves to eat of
GOD VS. GOD.
and we therefore think best to talk of som ething to do. Now we m ust the fruits of Science, the real tree
One of the greatest battles th at
get a plan, and the right plan, and of knowledge. We m ust be S aint
to all through the Torch.
There was a Secular church here make a sta rt before we can accom­ P atricks and banish all the subtle has ever been fought on the bloiyly
field of superstition is now in pro­
in Silverton, b u t no very active plish much. Personally we have a serpents.
work, outside of entertainm ent, was plan which we are positive in our
And in the future, when our gress. It is the fight between the
ever accomplished on account of own m ind is the right one, and the voices, echoing down through the personal, m an-like god and the spi­
the im possibility of doing anything only one th a t will ever succeed. ages in our works and perhaps in ritu al, intellectual-force m onster,
when there is nothing to do but to The Liberal U niversity and Torch the records of hum an progress, call who is now throw ing up his e a rth ­
tear down, as is the case where of Reason is the first step in this to the free and happy in h a b ita n ts works in the m inds of m any. But
iconoclastic ra th e r than co n stru ct­ plan, and time is proving the first of the garden, they will not hide there is no proof w hatever— abso­
ive workers are in the m ajority. step a great success. T h at we of them selves nor fear the proclam a­ lutely none— th a t there is any
higher intelligence th an m an. One
The progressive workers here at this generation may live to see the tion of a curse.
force of n atu re is no more a god
last gave up for the tim e being, and plan com pleted and working its
than any other. The word god is
o f course the “off elem ent” did no- scientific “ m iracles” for hum anity,
T H E R E FO R M OF R E FO R M S
an unscientific term which must
th in g as usual and the church and th a t we m ay at least be satis-
finally be cast into the w aste-basket
stopped.
But the T hought E x ­ iled th a t at some future tim e this
of
the ages along with ghost, devil,
The reasou we are publishing the
change has taken its place and it is planet will be owned by m an in- Torch of Reason and building the witch, m iracle and angel. Some of
proving a very good su b stitu te for stead of by the gods and th eir imps, Liberal U niversity, and the reason the forces in n atu re an d the m atter
which they control are imperfectly
the time being, and when we get ought to be the earnest working we are coufiuing our life work to
understood, because of our limited
the U niversity work a little farth er desire of every liberated m an and the reform which they represent, is powers, but th a t which we do not
along we intend to organize a bet- woman in the world.
because we consider it the greatest u n derstand is as sim ple as th at
ter church and Su inlay school than
—— , ■
of reforms. Spookisra is the ta p ­ which we do understan d , and there
is no god nor trace of a god of any
e v e r.
CA PA CITY IS W E A L T H .
root of all the evils in the world. If kind to be found anywhere. The
There should be organizers placed
we can destroy th e su p ern atu ral spirit-god idea is as false and ab­
in the field a t once to organize
To appreciate the things around trash the churches are teaching, we surd as the personal god idea, and
these churches and S unday schools, us is certainly wealth. No m an or can soon bring about other needed perhaps more productive of evil.
and instead of letting everybody woman can possibly be happy, it reforms; but as long as the people At present the old an th ro p o m o r­
join who has a a dollar they should m atters not how much gold. or of the world are groping around in phic god has a great following
only solicit those as members who lands or m ining stock they possess, the darkness of ignorance and dodg­ am ong people who are grossly ig­
norant of the laws of nature. But
¡ire known to be of the best Secular unless they are in sym pathy, in ing this way and th a t try in g to his last battle with his rival spook
and m oral tim ber. In nearly every touch with nature and its cap- avoid the clutches of the evil is on and will continue until the
com m unity there are a few of the sheaf, hum anity. How poor is the spooks and to secure the assistance masses begin to touch the hem of
older citizens who are of this de- rich m an or woman who thinks he of the good ones, nothing can be the beautiful, shining garm ent of
Science.
scription and m any of the younger or she is poor. We have seen m any done. A more ridiculous condition
But when all men have partaken
ones who can very easily he shown who possessed thousands of dollars
than the present could not be im- of the true sacram ental feast— when
the beauties of the true, common- and much property, who are poorer agiued. This p lan et is yet a kin- they have eaten the flesh and drunk
sense religion
of H , um
,,
, . anity. If we th an
who ow» naught but a ' dergarten and some of th e children the blood of Science, even the U nit­
were able we would have men and contented yet progressive m ind. | bave very crude notions. Science arian god will droop and die, and
women tn the field at once, and | C apacity to enjoy one’s work and ' is the trained teacher, and those m an a t last be crowned king of
kings and lord of lords.
these workers would be such men
and women as all m ight be proud
T he O nly P ap er of Its K ind.
of, and the work would sim ply as-
— tonish the world.
The rules o f
P u b lish ed W eekly by th e L iberal U ni- these churches m ust be very strict,
versity C om pany, in the In te re sts of
We have catered to th e weaklings
C onstructive, Moral Secularism .
and to their weaknesses longenough.
Science m ust be our guide and
J. E. H osm er,........................Editor
savior, and what Science says we
P. W . Geer......................... M anager
m in t obey if we wish to succeed.
From a business point of view as
E n te red a t th e postoffice at S ilverton,
well as from every other point of
O regon, as second-class m ail m a tte r.
view, this is the only way. The
SUBSCRIPTION RATES.
F reethought work has poorly suc­
ceeded heretofore, on account oi
Torch of Reason