4
THE TORCH OF REASON, SILVERTON, OREGON, FEBRUARY 15, 1900.
after the end of each rain-bow that
appears. Securing a fortune by
steady, legitimate methods will be­
The Only Paper of Its Kind.
come harder, because less iuterest-
ing. The many disappointments
P ublished W eekly by th e Liberal ( ni-
that are certain to come will have
versity C om pany, in the In te re sts of
C onstructive, Moral Secularism .
a bad effect on the disposition, and
the fortune and all the good for
seeketh the tru th ; and I w i l l p a r­
J. E. H osm er,....................... Editor
which it was to he used will be lost
don it.”— [Jer. 5:1.
P. W . Geer..........................Manager
and the word before “finis” in the
In order to appreciate the idiotic
hook of life will be failure !
ravings of this prophet Jeremiah,
E n te red a t th e postoffice a t Silverton,
Life to the great majority is a
one should read the whole chapter,
O regon, as second-class mail m atter.
failure, for men and women, guided
but perhaps it is enough to ay
by false ideas, are yet running after
SUBSCRIPTION RATES.
here that truth seems to mean to
rain-bow notions, or drifting dere­
those who have use for a god,
lict upon the sea of life.
One year, in ad v an ce.......................... I 1 YY nothing but absolute submission to
Six m onths, in ad v an ce....................
™
To stop all this, to make the life
T hree m onths, in advance................
the priest or prophet.
In clubs of five or m ore, one year,
_
of all a success and thus save the
There are four other places where
in a d v an c e ..........................................
world from its corruption, ought to
Money should lie sent by registered something akin to truth is mention­
be the earnest desire of every in­
le tte r or m oney order.
ed. In Is. 1:17 it says: “ Learn to
telligent man and woman of the
do well: seek judgment, relieve the
world. We must learn to base all
Notice!
oppressed, judge the fatherless,
our mental and physical labors on
plead for the widow.” Taken alone,
the known and demonstrable truths
A h a n d pointing to th is notice denotes this seems like a gem of advice, but
A S P IR IT U A L POT OF GOLD.
th a t your subscription has ex p ired .
of Science. The inherited weak­
You are earn estly requested to re­ as it is mixed with threats, lamen­
nesses and unnatural longings of
new so th a t you m ay receive th e pa­ tations and complaints to force the
Every teacher finds students who
per w ith o u t in te rru p tio n . We have de­
material or spiritual treasure must
cided th a t it is best for all concerned people into an unnatural service, have much difficulty in getting
be conquered. We must learn,
th a t we do n o t send papers longer th an which is its only object, we see that
th e tim e paid for unless so ordered.
their problems. Careful investiga­ when excited by grief or other
T his will prev en t any loss and we will it is not unselfishly given for the
know just w here we stan d .
good of the people, but for the sake tion always shows that some one strong emotions, to avoid the un­
We request you to send us th e nam es
little principle or method is not balanced condition of mind that
of Secularists who m ight become su b ­ of getting control.
scribers and we will m ail sam ple copies.
In Eccl. 1:13; 7:25, the search understood, and that whenever that always comes from long and con­
for wisdom seems to have a bad particular thing is involved the tinuous longings for that which in
THURSDAY, FEB. 15, E. M. 300. effect on the old preacher,and when student is embarrassed, puzzled, our normal condition is absurd.
we consider the preacher’s habits becomes discouraged and fails. If Let our love for Humanity teach
we do not wonder that his search it is an essential and much-used us to unselfishly live and labor for
SE EK T H E T R U TH .
was a failure. “And I gave my principle there is much difficulty, the good of all.
Jesus Christ is represented as heart to search out by wisdom con­ and unless his mistake is corrected
saying, “Seek and ye shall find.’ cerning all things that are done and he is taught the truth his pro­
W H Y W E W IL L SUCCEED*
This is good doctrine if applied to under heaven: this sore travail gress is checked if not entirely
hath God given to the sons of naau stopped. Thus it is with our lives.
the search for truth and right, but
It is said of Voltaire that “he
to be exercised therewith. . . . If we do not base our work on the
it is against the foolish faith behold, all is vanity and vexation solid foundations of true princi­ conquered violence by a smile, des­
of every orthodox man and of spirit.” This is a very bad doc­ ples it will be a failure. Does this potism by sarcasm, infallibility by
woman in the world. Orthodoxy trine, for when thoroughly believed not answer the oft asked question, irony, obstinacy by perseverance,
says, “ Have faith and ye shall be it makes its victims cease search- “What harm, even if it is not true, ignorance by truth.” In our time
made whole”; and instead of search­ ing for anything. These words of doe3 it do to believe in a future
there is as much need of men and
ing for the truth, it searches for that the said-to-be wisest of men have life?” If a future state of existence
which will strengthen its faith. probably prevented progress more is not true, and we go all through women who can and will conquer
Thus credulity is born into the than any other words that were life with a lie in our minds, how the conscious and unconscious ene­
minds of helpless babes, and thus ever printed. All is not vanity and many other mistakes and w hat de­ mies of our race as there were in
our world that should he filled with vexation of spirit to those who will gree of failure it may produce, is the times of the American and
life and light is overflowing with seek the truth and live it after they impossible to tell unless we have French Revolutions. Yes, perhaps
have found it.
the power to strike a balance be- more need, for we must protect the
death and darkness.
But the climax is reached when tween all the true and false notions jewels of truth and liberty that
Paul Carus says that the princi­
ples of the Religion of Science are in 1 Cor. 1:22, we find Paul, the and consequent actions of our lives, such men as Voltaire and Paine
woman-hater, expressing his con- That it is desirable to believe in secured for u? and wrest from
as follows:
• First, to 1 ‘ enquire
.
after the truth I tempt for the Jews (who were for- an egoistic future state of spiritual modern tyrants the scepter of their
(“Seek and ye shall find”); second, merly God’s pet people) and the existence to make us better or hap- power.
This can only be done by those
to accept the truth; third, to reject Greeks for seeking after proof and pier as individuals or as a people is
what is untrue; fourth, to trust in wisdom. “For the Jews require a only determined by the question, who learn to smile; by those who
truth; and, fifth, to live the truth. sign, and the Greeks seek after wis- “Is it true?” One lie or false idea secure through education the power
These principles are certainly dom; hut we preach Christ cruci- leads to others, and the nearer of sarcasm and irony; by those
true ones, but how different are fied, unto the Jews a stumbling all truth we can get, and the soon- whose perseverance is trained by
they from the advice of priests and block and unto the Greeks foolish- er we learn to be happily in har­ the discipline of labor, and whose
mony with all truth, the sooner faith is built on the proven and
preachers and their holy hook. The ness.
So we see all through that real will the truth make us free and assimilated truths of Science, un­
Lord, who is supposed to have
biased and unneutralized, instead
written the Bible and inspired the truth and wisdom is set aside for happy.
Suppose one sets out to win a of upon the mythological blood and
preachers, seems to be selfish like belief, faith, and the weak and fool-
those whom he has called, and ish things of the world. The many fortune. He may be strong, in- righteousness of a foreign prince.
wants the people to waste their other passages where we are advis- dustrious, and economical and in And this is why we are building
time trying to find him, instead of ed by this “holy word” to seek after every way excepting one well the “only school of its kind in the
things are devoted to seeking after equipped for the struggle; but if he world.” Our success is certain, for
searching for truth.
It is amusing and instructive to things that are not the truth. We is credulous, ignorant of natural those who have the spirit of Bruno,
find what the ancient ignoramuses are told to seek after God and his laws, and believes the old story of Voltaire and of Paine are coming
who wrote the Bible advise righteousness, not Good and the about a pot of gold at the end of to our help, and all the powers of
their dupes to seek after. Out of righteousness of man. This seek- the rain-bow, what will be the im- ignorance and superstition can not
about ninety passages in this an­ ing after God is the burden of. mediate and ultimate effect? If prevail against an army that can
cient book that speak of “seeking’’ the seeking song nearly all the way thoroughly converted to the idea neither be bribed by gold nor fright­
for things, there is only one that through and, then as now, seeking he will neglect his work and run ened by orthodox spooks.
Torch of Reason
speaks of seeking lor truth, and it
is as follows:
“Run ye to and fro through the
streets of Jerusalem, and see now,
and seek in the broad places there-
of, if ye can find a man, if there be
any that executeth judgmeut, that
after God meant joining the church
and doing as “God’s anointed” told
us to do or be damned. Even the
opening quotation of this article,
“Seek and ye shall find,’ turns out
to mean to seek for a ghost
spook instead of seeking for the
truth. Soon after uttering the
words, Jesus is represented as cur-
ing a deaf man by casting out a
devil. Physicians have long since
abandoned this method, and mans
of the best in our land believe that
instead of casting out a devil, he
(or the inspired(?) writer) cast in
a devil, and a black one it has
proved to be, for it has sent the peo­
ple off after gods, angels and ghosts
and prevented the best and noblest
of earth from seeking and finding
that which the world most needs.
Let us now seek the truth!