T orch of
R eason .
•TRUTH BEARS THE TORCH IN TH E SEARCH FOR TR U TH ."—£ Mcr<s« Ms.
VOL. 4.
S IL V E R T O N , O R EG O N , T H U R S D A Y , S E PT E M B E R 20, E. M. 300 (1900.)
F or th e Torch of Reaon.
NO. 37.
defiled.
Thug, while the Bible be no really lofty m otive in wor
(the sense for cause and effect,)
teaches forgiveness, the doctrine shiping a conditionless, infinite be-
m em ory, and incontestable ideas,
th a t unbelievers are deserving of ing of whom we can form no clear
for which only the form ula is lack
BY R. H. MITCHKLL.
eternal pain is adapted only to conception, or at least whom we
ing. The apes have m alice, im ita
ROM e a rth to heaven above, from distort and underm ine every idea
could neither benefit nor injure, tion, the need of play, the sp irit of
e a rth to hell below,
of
true
justice.
How
can
a
m
an
But we can add to the h ap p in ess
The holy Ootl decrees, in justice
exam ination, of sy m p a th y , of defi
and in love,
have any clear cenception of equity of m ankind, and in so doing we
ance, the need of talk in g , of h e a r
M ankind a t d e a th shall go.
who is educated to sym pathize exercise all our highest and noblest
ing and being heard, th e sense for
This tim e-w orn creed, religious gift,
with
such
a
dogm
a?
Indeed,
how
powers.
This,
then,
is
our
suhsti-
In priesthood born, by p riest m ade lit,
assisting in raisin g a large stone or
H as ruled th e lives of m en,
can C hristians be expected to im- j tute. Instead of God, we would in crossing a river, the sense of
W ith glowing hope all seem ed m ost fair;
In- m u tu al u n d ersta n d in g for m aking
B ut d a rk e n in g doom and d read d esp air prove on th e exam ple set them by live and labor for m ankind.
th eir M aster? Can they forgive stead of C h ristia n ity , the Religion
Made world of pain and care.
forays or for self-defence, the sense
Doth any know of all such bliss?
and
love
th
eir
enem
ies
when
they
of
H
u
m
an
ity
.
Or sta te or place w here curse and hiss
of com m on u tility in disposing
believe th a t C hrist is going to
Inflam e th e fearful dead?
sentinels, who are punished when
For w hen th is life, unchanged by us
dam n his forever? Belief in such
M a n ’s Origin.
W ith know ledge clear, shall d isap p ear,
they perm it th e band to be s u r
notions regarding m a n ’s resp o n si
By h u m an self u n fe lt—
prised, etc. Is there a reason to
In sleep of d e ath w hat shall aw ake?
bility to a supposed C reator, is
HAT is certain is, th a t be astonished if one of these a n i
W hat conscious m ind h a th broke its
sure to foster sy m p ath y with them .
yoke,
man by all of his c h a r m als, having acquired by d in t of
T his sile n t, dream less rest?
And w hat men love they will be
acter» is descended from hard efforts artic u la te language,
W h a t voice is h eard beyond th e clouds?
likely to practice, so th a t those who some prim ate. The brain, the hand which helps him to fix his m em
W hat song or c h a n t from nam eless
8 here
favor an infam ous punishm ent in and all th a t relates to bis way of
ories and ideas an d sim plifies these
Invokes our heedless w orld?
an o th er and endless existence, will standing, with the exception of the
S upernal life, a dream so dear,
operations, or by h a v in g become
In s p irit orbs revolving clear,
be alm ost certain to have perverted foot, are proofs of it.
g
ra d u a lly more precise in his acts
Is sought or hoped in vain.
and u n ju st views regarding m eth
To hope or fear for o th e r sphere,
B ut from w hat branch and in of reason, m ore careful in his acts
W here finite form s unchanged ap p ear,
ods of governm ent in the affairs of w hat epoch was the in itial shoot of will, more highly conscious of
W ere je s t an d m enace rude.
him self, m ore in v en tiv e in satisfy
this world.
W here fancy sp o rts w ith love in pain,
thrown off? T h a t is a question ing his daily needs— is it to be
Or falsehood’s guile w ith te rro r binds
ih u s , instead of salvation from which it is wise to reserve for a w rndered at th a t he should have
W ith frenzied spell or lure.
Not glory th ere , no t beauty thence,
H ell in an im aginary hereafter, by future time. We should not forget created for him self new an d pecu
To se n tie n t s p irit brings co n ten t
faith in the dogm as of the C hurch, th a t fam ilies an d genera of p ri liar needs, even psychical in c h a r
W here life an d being blend.
W ith sta rs above, and rolling seas,
we offer salvation from the evils in mates m ust have existed which acter, and th a t little by little he
should have lifted him seif up to
All n a tu r e ’s boundless dow er,
this world by p atien t and in d u s have now utterly disappeared, and the level of the sesthetic sense, the
H ere is o u r b irth a n d goal.
U n n u m b ered w orlds, sublim ely thro n ed trious atten tio n to the conditions of th a t the present types m ay he only sp irit of love of tru th ? —[S elected]
M ajestic sh in e in gran d control,
developm ent,health, and happiness, descendants of others of which we
E n tra n c e an d th rill th e soul.
No m ore, no m ore from fate is given
as revealed by science. In stead of know nothing.
The Universe vs. a Qod.
To lig h t our way th a n e a rth ly beam
vainly try in g to restrain men from
Of u niversal heaven.
The com parison between m an
H ere all is change in e a rth and air.
vice and crime by the fear of p u n and the other an im als is not re
BY SAM PRESTON.
So bliss and d e ath an d every loss
ishm
ent
after
d
eath
,
we
would
The m oving m y stery sh are.
stricted to m orphological ch arac
F o rb e ar to grieve for m o rtals gone,
teach them the ce rtain ty with ters. If anthropology gives them
S an infinite God m ust nec
To hope th a t eve shall change to m orn
which
they
will
be
punished
in
this
the preference, the reason is th a t
In tim e and hom e beyond.
essarily fill the e n tirity
A m ystic guest, a flash of power,
world for every essentially im they can be got at, analyzed and
of space,, there could be
The m eteor day, th e m o m e n t’s love,
moral
act
they
com
m
it.
We
weighed with great precision, and room for au g h t else.
W e ever com e and go.
God and
The conscious ray illum es an d burns,
would teach them th a t w’hether th a t they faithfully reflect th e m an
could not
live together
The spark of life c o n te n t re tu rn s
th
eir
sins
are
found
out
or
not,
functional characters, in virtue of in
To n a tu r e ’s larger hom e.
the sam e universe.
God
T he work is done, in d e stin ed tu rn ;
they can not do wrong w ithout rob the principle th a t the “ function would necessarily be ev ery th in g ;
O ur lives unfold, o u r th o u g h t confirm s
bing
them selves and
stepping creates the organ.”
then th e nniverse m ust be n o th in g .
E te rn al B eing’s own.
F re ep o rt, M aine.
backw ard tow ard the old four-
M an has the sam e functions as B ut we have the universe, an d th a t
footed life.
And if we fail to pro
anim als, slig h tly modified here and is everything; therefore God is n o
Our .Substitute.
duce any evidence of a perpetual there, the sam e general needs, the th in g — existing nowhere. A mote
joy, we can at least offer the happy sam e modes of satisfying them , th a t is, is better th an G >d th a t is
BY EDGAR C. BEALL.
assurance th a t not one poor soul
the sam e sentim ents, desires, im not. If we p a rt w ith God and ob-
will ever suffer an etern ity of pain.
pulses and m otives, the sam e reflex taiu a universe, we m ake a m ag
n debating the subject of C h rist
Properly defined, religion m eans actions, with or w ithout the in te r nificent exchange. The issue has
ian ity its advocates are accus sim ply the bond between m an and vention of the ego. The psychical alw ays been God versus m atter.
tomed to define it as the doc th e highest object which he can are brought into play between sen When people come to u n d ersta n d
trin e of a pure life; the principle of love, and toward which he can feel sation and action, isolated and r u th a t m atter has alw ays been, th a t
it etern ally had the s ta rt of every
universal love and forgiveness, etc. a s e n s e o f d u ty sufficiently strong d im e n ta ry in this or th a t lower o r
th in g else, and hence needed no
But when they teach it from the to discipline all his faculties, and higher anim al, less isolated an d creation, it will he seen th a t there
p u lp it or in th eir ecclesiastical tri prescribe to him a rule of life. more m arked in others, form ing never has been any necessity for a
bunals, it becomes transform ed into Hence, it is right th a t in this sense associations in greater or less n u m - God, an d as the universe is ever
governed by law. there is n o thing
•
-
a system of dogm as, m any of which we should have a religion. But in- • her« in
one class, and a tta in in g a for a God to do.M en m ust believe
have not only no connection w ith stead of the God of the Bible as the rem ark ab le degree of developm ent in m atter, because it is every th in g ,
• a
a
any principle of m orality, but are chief object of our consideration,
in an other, as in the elephant, th e and does everything. S om ething
sim ply
infam ous
and deadly. we would devote our efforts to our dog and the ape, but arriv in g a t is alw ays better th a n nothing.
if
God
is
not
m
atter
he
is
not
a
n
y
W hen C h ristian s exponnd their fellow men, and make the sense of their highest degree of diflierentia
religion let them spurn every dis our obligation to them, if not to tion and com plexity in man when thing; and the idea of God is des
tined to become obsolete, and g ra d
guise and ap p ear under their dual onrselves, curb every tendency to th e volum n of the brain and its ually pass into u tte r iorgetfullness.
flag. We do not deny th a t there is a evil. Those who could be insensi- convolutions have reached th eir I he G od-idea has been the cen ter
noble and lofty side to C h ristia n ity , ble to such a religion as this, would m axim um .
A nim als have
the and foundation of all the su p e rsti
W hen m en
but when pure w ater flows into a be callous to every thing good in powers of curiosity, atten tio n , o h-, tious of the world.
polluted stream , the whole becomes the religion of C hrist.
There can | servation, reflectio n ,d eterm in atio n , | have learned to dispense with it,
th eir em ancipation will be great.
Destiny.
F
w
A
I