TUE TORCH OF REASON, SILVERTON, OREGON, MAY 3, 1900.
4
Torch
of
Reason
edge of such things, might suppose
But when such men as John J. ous and unnecessary.
But this
that the little boy and girl gods Ingalls can pen such lines as the does not disturb our belief in
had a good tim e m aking mud pies
u;i .u
; r father was » building
-u«
.i
wbiJe
their
the
.
Published Weekly by the Liberal Lni- world, and it would be fully as log-
versity C om pany, in th e In tere sts of
ical as to suppose th a t an ad u lt
C onstructive, Moral Secularism .
The O nly P ap er of Its Kind.
ud m ad e th e e a rth .
god
M''-'*«»**'**«
J. E. H o s m e r,........................E d ito r
P. W . G e e r,........................ M an a g er less active
i...
following, what can be expected
r from those who . bv • inheritance
i
,
and
-
by train in g only know how to fol-
low? The enslaved mind produces
Shakespeare.
“ Irrespective
of creeds
and , , theol-
_
,,
„
„
•
.
ngv, they are wise who would rec-
ovniz^ God in the C onstitution be-
catire faith in a suprem e being, in
Babble* of th e th o u g h t a n d th e th o u g h t pro- im m o rta lity an d in th e oompena**
thlOl
u
,U. e te fn iT ro u n d , ’
J
matter in ‘ the great but vibrations
from the ever-bril-
ocean of space, driven by the forces lian t Sun of T ruth will finally
E n tered a t th e yxietottice a t S ilverton, inherent in matter itself, undoubt- produce, enlarge and perfect the
’
•
r‘
fully to social order by enabling
man to endure with composure the
injustice of this world in ’the hope
of reparation in that which is to
come.
Oregon, as second-class m ail m a tte r.
edly formed the earth and the oth- reason of man until all will induct-
“ Inasmuch as both force and
er worlds. Go back and back and ivelv correct what they now accept
matter are infinite and indestructi
SU B SC R IPTIO N R A T E S .
ble, and <’an be neither added to
nor subtracted from, it follows that
One year, in a d v an c e ..........................$1 00
A
C
O
M
P
A
R
IS
O
N
.
in
some form we have always ex
Six m onths, in ad v an ce....................
50
C
H
R
IS
T
IA
N
.
.
SE
C
U
L
A
R
.
T hree m onths, in a d v an c e ................
25
isted, and that we shall coutinue
In clubs of five or m ore, one year,
in some form to exist forever.”
A GOOD C O N FESSIO N .
in ad v an ce..........................................
75
A TRU E R E D E M PT IO N .
Money should he sent by registered The ch ain s th a t have bound me are flung The chains th a t once bound us are flung
A universe without a god is no
le tte r or m oney order.
to th e wind ;
to th e w in d ;
more absurd than one without a
By th e m ercy of Clod th e poor slave is
From th e fear of th e g<xls th e poor
witch, to the mind that has learned
set free;
slaves are set fre e ;
Notice!
And th e strong grace of heaven b rea th es And th e love of H u m an ity bu d s fresh in to account for things in other ways,
fresh o ’er th e m in d ,
th e m in d ,
L ike th e b rig h t w inds of su m m er th a t
Like a rose in a su m m er breeze, glad- and spontaneous feelings (often in
A h a n d p ointing to th is notice denotes
gladden th e sea.
some and free.
herited), which are thought by
th a t your su b scrip tio n h as e x p ire d .
You are e arn estly req u ested to r e T here was n au g h t in God s world half so T h e re ’s n a u g h t else in our world half so some to be reason, is the only men
new so th a t you m ay receive th e p a
d ark or so vile
d a rk or go vije
per w ith o u t in te rru p tio n . We have de
As th e sin and th e bondage th a t fet-
^.s q ie bondage of priests, th a t fetters tal process which rejects the idea
cided th a t it is I>est for all concerned
tered m y s o u l;
t j)e g®u j .
of a universe without a god. Fate,
th a t we do n o t send p ap ers longer th a n T here was n au g h t h alf so base as th e T here is n a u g h t h alf so base as th e
blind chance and miracles do not
th e tim e paid for unless so ordered.
m alice and guile
m alice an d
iJe
This will p rev e n t any loss and we will
Of m y own sordid passions or S atan s
o f th e ir h e ath en ish dogm as th e weak satisfy the mind, nor does the idea
control.
know just w here we sta n d .
to control.
of a god. Those who have reason
We request you to send us th e nam es
For
years
I
have
borne
ab
o
u
t
hell
in
my
of Secularists who m ight becom e su b
the question (which is
For a w hile we endeavored of God to be ask
b r e a s t;
scribers and we will m ail sam ple copies.
b
le
sse
d
;
as necessary of explanation as
W hen I th o u g h t of my God, it was
W hen w e’d th in k , off o u r guard , ah,
noth in g b u t gloom ;
the one in regard to to the uni
th en we would pray.
Day b ro u g h t me no pleasure, n ig h t gave
T hursday , M ay 3, E. M. 300.
A
m
ake-believe
happiness
gave
us
no
rest.
verse) who made yourgod? A god
me no rest,
T here was reaso n ’s still voice th a t it
T here was still the grim shadow of
without a maker is more absurd
could not repay.
h o rrib le doom .
T H E T R U T H V S. OLD TH E O R IE S.
than a universe without one, and
I t seem ed as if n o th in g less likely could I t seem s as if n o th in g less noble could be
be
i T han a struggle for lig h t from a dun- the reason (not spontaneous) re
geon so deep
Science teaches us that space is T h an th a t light should break in on a
jects the god theory entirely as an
To create a new world and forever be free
dungeon
so
d
eep
;
occupied by matter, and that one To create a new world were less h ard Is b e tte r th a n bondage in ig n o ran t absurd complication rather than an
sleep.
th a n to free
of the general properties of matter
explanation of the question.
T
he
slave
from
his
b
o
n
d
ag
e,.th
e
soul
is impenetrability. Where, then,
A god is no more indispensable,
from its sleep.
So th e work will g o o n ; we’ll seek for
is there room for a god? If he(?)
th e lig h t,
we repeat, than a god’s maker and
B u t th e word has gone fo rth , and said,
A
nd
tru
th
like
th
e
sun
sends
a
b
rig
h
t
is immaterial, he is nothing, and
L et th ere lx? lig h t,”
operator, and so on, ad infinitum.
ray at m orn
A
nd
“
fle
a
h
t
p
d
Hke
*
We
«
K
T
th
ro
u
g
h
if matelrial, he - must be either in
The idea of the eternal forces is as
organic form, like men and women, O ne look from m v S a v io r , an d all th e An(| , he " ¿ . t m a r e of d a rk n ess for- easy to rest the mind on as the idea
or in inorganic form, like an in
of an eternal god, and much more
Like a dream scarce rem em bered, was
ever is gone,
visible gas, as oxygen.
But the
gone from m y h e a rt.
so when we consider that it solves
for m ercy, nor fall on our
idea of a man-like god is too ab I cried o u t for m ercy, an d fell on m y W e cry not
the whole question. How could a
knees,
surd to longer believe, and an all
knees,
Nor confess to a god th a t was created good god make or allow so much
And
confessed,
w
hile
m
y
h
e
a
rt
w
ith
by m an.
wise gas is still more absurd, if it is
keen sorrow was w ru n g ;
The p ast ig n o ran t ages th o u g h t his w rath evil? Is there a devil? Is there a
possible, in the light of science, for ’Twas labor of m in u tes, an d years of
to appease,
heaven? Is there a hell? All
disease
A
nd
today
let them love him who ig
the human mind to think of any Fell as fast from m y soul as th e words
these silly questions dissolve and
n o ran tly can.
thing more illogical than an an
from my tongue.
no more trouble the mind that has
thropomorphic god governing the A nd now, blest be God and th e sw eet And now, let th e good and th e free who been emancipated from the snares
can live
Lord who died.
motions of the planets, satellites
L
ike
a
deer
on the m o u n ta in , a bird in of the old ignorant god theory.
th e m o u n ta in , no bird in
th e sky,
and suns and. at the same time No deer th on e sky,
The universe, with its beautiful
No
b
rig
h
t
wave
th
a
t
leans
o
’er
th
e
d
a
rk
L
ike
briyh.t
r
a
w
a
V““
,!e
a
P
°
’<
‘r
th
e
counting every hair of our heads
order, which becomes confusion, or
b ounding tid e
i n .
!lark bounding tid e
and directing every corpuscle in its Is a c re a tu re so free or so happy as I? ! B n n g a ¡°y tb e h e a rt an d a h «b t to at least potential chaos, to one who
course through the veins of every All h a il, th e n , all hail to th e d ear, p re
holds that a god controls according
animal in the world.
The great,
cious blood,
All h ail, th e n , all h ail to th e d ear, pre- to his caprice, marches to the beau-
T
h
a
t
h
a
th
worked
these
pweet
w
onders
cious T ru th ,
•
r i
v
eternal laws which govern matter
of m ercy in m e 1
T h a t will b rin g tru e salv atio n —re- > u m u s ic ot law, to him who in
have evolved the universe as it is May each day countless n u m b ers th ro n g
creatin g th e w o rld !
¡the love of nature holds coinmun-
down to its flood,
Soon u n n u m b ere d m illions will follow :«
... ,
. ...
,
,
and the life forms therein.
it«
lon with
visible form s.” The
And God have his glory, an d sin n ers
its litrht
lig h t,
go free.
We have in the L. U. O. muse
W ith th e b a n n er of Freedom forever belief in God and in immortality
—F. W , F aber in Signs of th e Tim es.
u n fu rled .
um a number of little, smooth,
have been the cause of the social
round cakes of hardened clay.
disorder in the world. It is arti
These little cakes were formed, so back in time till the mind wearies from the priests and their books.
ficial, admits of no improvement,
says the Hon. T. W. Davenport, of thinking, and yet there is no
Mr. Ingalls writes as follows:
the theories built thereon are bones
the donor, in the bottom of an an room for a god in the boundless
“A universe without a god is an of contention for warring sects, and
cient lake in the state of Washing depths of matter-occupied space, intellectual absurdity which reason they who wait to have their wrongs
ton.
Bubbles of gas breakiug and we come back from our search rejects spontaneously. Fate, force righted in another world become
through the door of the lake caus- with disgust for the rainbow and an^ (*hance do not satisfy the mind, weak underlings, with the meekness
ed 6mall portions of its clay
to Santa Claus stories of the child- uHamlet” * were* sha^ken^hi ic iic e
a 8erv’n8
and the brains of a
move up and down, up and down, hood of our race. And yet how box and thrown at midnight in a priest-ridden donkey.
for ages, and when the lake dried many there are who, without evi- tempest on the desert of Sahara
Matter and force are infinite and
up these miniature mud pies were dence, are blindly accepting and they might fall exactly as they are indestructible as far as man can
baked by the sun aud furnish us s depending upon this mythical ere- arrap?eii
*n \ the - / drama.
k
7 «
V
‘ It may he know,
and if “in some form we have
food for thought
. in our en * ator to redeem the world, instead ¡oblong enough they0would some always existed,” as Mr. Ingells says,
deavors to determine how they got of realizing that tne work all rests time inevitably so fall, which would bow did it require a god to make
ere. Some, having no true knowl- upon humanity itself.
render the Bard of Avon superflu- us? And the same rule will apply