Torch of reason., April 19, 1900, Page 2, Image 2

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THE TORCH OF REASON, SILVERTON, OREGON, APRIL 19, 1900.
the ooze and dankness in order down into darkness again. They earth was a globe and the center of blind as those who have eyes and
that his fellow men may see the also fancied him in his yearly the universe. The scientific discov­ will not see! Such has been the
dawning light of Truth, radiating course driving to the lands of the eries of these three men, along with ignorant excuse of Monotheism ever
from the Torch of Reason. This Hyperboreans in the north. Thus the other philosophers of Greece, since it originated. They are afraid
idea of the awe-inspiring “nothing- the sun to them was a living thing. entirely wiped out the old beliefs of to see le6t they believe. One can­
something” arose with the dawn of They had not the faculty of endow­ Polytheism and s< t Greece free. not see and not believe.
F<>r his teachings he was sum-
being, had its zenith in the “infinite ing it with life of its own, but they But there yet remained one thing
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now declining into the darkness of and hence the sun became a living What is Good and Evil? Out of charges being that: “It is absurd
oblivion, never more to pollute the being like themselves. Such has Good and Evil sprang another re­ and heretical to assert that the sun
fair face of our earthly planet and been the formation of every god. ligion, Dualism, aud from the un­ is motionless.” He was given this
make a hell of our heaven. In such God did not create man in his own explainable W hy ? came the relig­ alternative:—Obey or refrain from
a brief time I can not go back to image as Genesis tell« us, but man ion of today. Monotheism became teaching or be cast into jail. He
the dawn of superstition and reveal created gods in his own image, the popular belief, and Chris­ promised obedience. After this the
its course to its present march, but The Greeks have their gods dressed tianity sprang at once into works of Copernicus were condemn­
I can start at a convenient point, in Grecian attire tnd thoroughly predominance, because it was ed by the Inquisition. They shut
where it is a child no longer, but Greek in their manners and cus­ just the form of belief that could be the mouth of Galileo but forgot
almost in its prime, and then trace toms. The Hindu has his god, accepted under the conditions. All that “Propogation of truth is the
it to the present time and prophecy not like the Greek but dressed in the discoveries yet made were in essence of scientific genius.” Al­
Hindu costume and possessing the harmony with Christianity, and though he had promised to obey he
until its death.
I will go back to the Polytheism attributes which only a Hindu does therefore it became predominant. could not refrain from letting his
of the Greeks. They have handed possess. The Chinese have their Christianity thus became the weed down-trodden fellow men know’ the
down to us their religious beliefs in god, which is neither a Greek nor a that would grow in the clearing truth. For a long time he ex­
the form of myths. We should not Hindu, but a separate being, hav­ when all the other weeds were erad­ pounded much, but was in such
look so much at what the myth is ing a personality of its own, entire­ icated, and the sign of the cross fear that he would draw no con­
clusions.
but what it means. It will also be ly different from any other god, spread throughout the lands.
Although cranks had lived and
About this time Urban VIII. be­
worth knowing that the Germans, but Chinese in all its particulars.
Scandinavians, Italians and peoples This goes to prove that gods are done much, there were cranks still came Pontiff. Urban was a great
friend of Galileo’s and Galileo at
of India have the same myths, formed after the ideal conceptions to be born and do more.
Iu the fifteenth century was born last looked forward to the culmina­
analagous in their meaning but of the individual, possessing the
different in construction. These common attributes of the concei ver. the immortal Copernicus. Up to tion of his great work, but it seems
myths are “false creations,” intend­ So we see the Greeks making the his time the Ptolemaic theory ruled that Urban held entirely different
ed to account for natural phenom­ subjective the objective in all things the world, but now the theory of views than Galileo and was not
ena, and it is therefore not surpris­ unexplainable. Things to be ex­ Copernicus, that the earth was a willing to see his ideas overruled.
ing to find parallel myths of the ad­ plained must appeal to the reason sphere revolving about its axis and Galileo, however, wrote his “Dia­
vent of evil into the world, such as as scientific factH, and can not be revolving about the sun once every logues in the Two Great Systems of
the “Adam and Eve f ib ” and the explained by endowing them with year, came into vogue and to the the Universe,” and sent them out
Greek “Liberation of Evil by Pan­ “spooks”. Consequently the Poly­ scientific mind Ptolemy’s theory in print. Urban thought his con­
dora.” Thus the Greeks accounted theism of the Greeks was to be was lost forever.
fidence betrayed by his old friend
for the formation of the universe in doomed when the light of science
Not much note was taken of these and at once summoned Galileo be­
this wise: In the beginning was would penetrate the darkness of ig­ discoveries until in the sixteenth fore him. Galileo was then in his
Chaos; Chaos wedded Night, and norance. The time at last came, century a new life came into being. 70th year, and arose from a sick
from them sprang Heaven and and Reason ruled the Grecian In 1564 was born the famous Gali­ bed to comply with the summons.
Earth. Time was born of the world. Under the teachings of the leo. If any person ever did much Upon being questioned as to the
Heaven and Earth, as was Thunder great philosophers Polytheism for­ for Science, Galileo did it. Early theory of Copernicus, he said:
and Lightning. It was the custom ever vanished. The greatest pro­ in life he became a mathematician “I am ready to refute the opinions
of the Greeks to embody everything gress was made iu the line of as­ and astronomer and made several of Copernicus by the most effective
with gods or goddesses, which they tronomy.
important discoveries.
But the method that God might place with­
could not explain scientifically.
The first astronomer, the first greatest discovery was “The Plural­ in my power.” Upon being ques­
These gods were like human beings revolutionist of universal ideas, ity of Worlds.” This was the first tioned about the theory of Ptolemy
but immortal. They had no spook- hence the first astronomical crank, fact discovered which did not di­ he said: “It is most true and un­
ology as we now have, but they did was Aristarchus of Samos, who liv­ rectly harmonize with the prevail­ questionable.” They could derive
have spooks in their imaginary ed iu the third century B. C. Not ing religion. Christianity at this nothing by their questioning any
gods. Thus Chaos was an immor- much is known of his teachings, period ruled the world, and any­ more than that he was there to
tai being, just as the prevailing God only that he taught that the earth thing which was antagonistic to its obey. In order to wring from him
of today, in the sense that both revolves about the sun as a center doctrines was thrown to the ground what he might think he was con­
were , from which all life sprang, and also revolves on its own axis. and stamped upon, just as it is to­ demned to undergo the “ Examen
but different in that Chaos to the He was the first to disbelieve that day. Galileo was always in fear of Rigorosum.” Stripped of his cloth­
Greeks was a something; God to the stars were lamps in heaven the Roman College which kept an ing he was hoisted by a rope and
Christianity is a nothing.
hung out by angels for the benefit especial vigil for such issues. At put through the most painful tor­
In time dissensions arose among of man below. How great his in- first he was welcomed by all the ture. In his agony he exclaimed,
the progeny of Heaven and Earth fluence was I do not know, but he prelates, cardinals and princes in “O Lord God, have pity!” In vain
and Zeus, or Jove, became ruling must have left his impressions on Rome and entertained in magnifi­ did his ecclesiastical torturers mal­
master of Greek religion. He re- part of the world, for in the second cent style in honor of his great dis­ treat him into telling his beliefs.
sided on Mt. Olympus and hurled century, B. C., we have brought to coveries. It was about this time Being such an old man he was
thunderbolts in his wrath, while light another crank who founded that he invented the telescope and placed in sackcloth and made to
the God of the Christians hurled most of our astronomical facts. discovered the other planets. His say one of the seven penetential
his thunderbolts from Mt. Sinai. This scientific man was Hippar­ scholars and friends wondered at psalms twice every week. It was
Thus we see that the Greek story of chus. Even so far back he calcu­ his universal intelligence, but those while in refuting his own beliefs at
the origination of the universe was lated eclipses, catalogued the stars who were unbelievers in his teach­ the bench, he arose and said be­
something like the prevailing belief ftsd wrote many astronomical ings scoffed him. He tried to in­ neath his breath, “It moves for all
today.
works. His work was followed up duce them to view the planets for that,” referring to the universe.
Another thing which the Greeks by Claudius Ptolemy,
themselves, but they turned away
The rest of his life was spent in
could not explain was the cause of
Claudius Ptolemy lived in Egypt with the excuse that they were Florence, where be was continually
day and night. They had their about 200 A. D. He was not so artificial or imaginary. They would watched by the Inquisition, hunted
god of the sun, Apollo. They fan- original as his predecessors, but his not believe even if they could. like a slave by the bloodhounds of
cied him coming up in the morning, work is valuable in that it preserv- There are those who have no eyes Christianity. Such has been the
standing in his fiery chariot drawn ed for us, in several volumes, the and therefore cannot see; there are history of all great revolutionists,
by frantic steeds, wending his way teachings of Hipparchus. Howev- those who have eyes and cannot see; tortured to death by Christian
in the heavens and finally driving i er, he set forth the belief that the but, dear friends, there are none so goads. May the time come when