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