Image provided by: Silverton Country Historical Society; Silverton, OR
About Torch of reason. (Silverton, Oregon) 1896-1903 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 6, 1900)
i .1 T H E TORCH OF REASON, S IL V E R T O N , OREGON, D E C E M B E R 6, E. M. 300 (1900.) bland Celestial says th a t C hina wants our science, and w ants to trade with us, but doesn’t w ant our m issionaries. W h at is more, she won’t have them . And th a t is all there is in it.— [F reeth inker. and to express his thought. An A theist is a F reeth in k er who rai<H(j toward h T co n l*nna»h sons whose cure by hum an m eans rejects as incom prehensible all tl , *** eave "- m ust have cost them th e price of a conceptions of God h ith erto formu- i rowinV^and 7 ° ^ ... . <,OCl<>r’ . 8 vw lt; in cooperation with lated, and wno who therefore excludes of view g’ edifvin * r° m .atvu, »no • h Fe .lgl° US h 's Pr ‘F«l« he has given offspring to such conceflions ,rom bis schen.e be cX d 7 “ \ WSH hei*lwi ^ e n n .a - of life. In the crowd a n , person w ,tb in- tu rn , directed search for gold and . . nets other than those of a wild counted the h airs upon the heads F a ith fu l to All P ro m ises. An Agnostic is a F reethinker beast he m ust have felt like rush- of all the children of men M ar’ ----------- who affirms th a t the finite and rel- mg to the rescue of the women, riag e, are m ade in his residence There is one side of M ark T w ain’s ative m ind of man cannot now, and join” «"<1 wife toge.h- ch aracter th a t m erits the adm ira- never will, understand the n atu re own life"8 c " e, ‘hr eby '<WlhiB a,,d “ * m ay Say " • H *‘ 8 've9 to one anim al the tion of everyone, relates the S a tu r- a °d origin of the infinite universe, t h \ t .t had there been present one means of seizing its prey thu s nro- day Evening Post. It has been A Secularist is a F reeth in k er splendidly shown in his determ ina- who, while not denying the exis- possessing the power, w ithout risk tenting it from starv atio n an d to to himself, of snatching these mod- the prey he gives the m eans of es- tion to pay the liab ility incurred in tence of spiritual or future worlds, H is the failure of a publishing house claim s th at the present world is em virgins from the grasp of the cape, so saving it from death incarnate dem ons and wreaking care over his creatures is, in fact an d in the success of his five y ears’ the only one we can at present u n condign punishm ent on their out- so com plete th a t not a work. B ut it does not stop there, j derstand, and it therefore dem ands sparrow ragers, he would not have hesitated falls to the ground w ithout his n o t H e is faith fu l to the last degree to °« r whole attention and service, for an in stan t before interfering. ice, and of how much more worth every prom ise he mskes. Some ' Bositivist is a Freethinker who But no such one was there. are two m issionaries, both virgins, y ears ago he was elected a member exc^udes theology and m etaphysics And yet if the religion which than one sparrow ! of a prom inent G rand A rm y Post ' ^rom scheme o f life, makes all these women went to C hina to An event like th a t we have des in M aryland, and he prom ised to I Sciences subordinate to sociology, propagate is true w’e are wrong in cribed raises one of the most p er be present a t the an n u a l meeting J C0nstan tly bears in m ind his in- that last statem ent. One was plexing problem s in theology. In and m ake an address. I t was an j Uehtedness to the labors of his fore- th ere—the One whom these women Paterson, New Jersey, a few d ay s o p p o rtu n ity for the people of Balti- ; father6, and regards the Service of worshiped and to whom their p ray ago, he perm itted a young girl more to deluge him w ith hospitali- j ^ an as the best of all religions, er and praise were addressed. ty, and a com m ittee was formed to | E th icist is a F reeth in k er W ithin the im m ediate sound of whom he had created to he drugged into insensibility and violated by take charge of him for a big recep- w^ ° regards m orality as the chief their voices—else were prayer and four male beings whom he had tion as soon as he was through ! characteristic of m an, and disasso- praise a mockery and a useless agi with his speech a t the banquet, i c’ate8 from theological sanctions. tation oft he a ir— resided their God, formed, and then to die from the effects of the drug and violence. T his speech was one of th e best he ! A R ationalist is a F reeth in k er the God to whose watchful care Here, it would seem, any God not ever delivered and it put the crowd ! w^ ° ’ in “ atters of religious and over his children, so the m inisters in roars of lau g h ter. j philosophical interest, will accept tell us, the cure of an earth ly p ar made of wood whence all the sap had departed would show his pow But he did not atten d the re c e p -! affirm ation op mere au th o rity ent is not for a m om ent to be com er; hut perhaps the girl was not a tion. The ex planation he gave al- i (academ ic or priestly), but applies pared. ( Kristian, and hence not under his most brought tears to the eyes of ! the best critical tests of which he The deity present when the wom special care. those who received it. H is daugh- !is capable en were outraged and slain was the But when the victims are m is ter was critically ill in H artford. God with whose special providences sionaries of his word, women who H e would not break his engage- ^ a s He on a J o u rn e y o r A sleep? all C hristian narrative and history have forsaken hom e and n ativ e rnent with the G rand A rm y post, are filled. This is the God who land, renouncing all social joys an d but the reason he did not accept with much fought beside his chosen people in A I | The daily ” “ papers, » ■ give, » the reception also was th a t within j painfulness of detail, an account of Palestine— with an account of presenting themselves as unspotted a few m inutes after he had con- the killing by the Chinese of two which instance of his protecting offerings upon his alter, his b ru tal eluded bis address he was taking ! female m issionaries, to whom, in care the women, doubtless, had indifference stam ps him the most the first train home. I generous headlines, the crown of often inform ed their slayers; he apathetic and insensible of all im aginable objects. Compared with A nother story illu strates his fi- true m artyrdom is accorded. was with the Israelites and m ade him a rock in the desert would be delity to his friends. In a certain B appears th a t all the other in- nothing .......... o of ___... such m iracles as upeu- open city he was visiting a mau who had h ab itan ts of this p articu lar mission I ing seas th a t they m ight escape esteemed active and interested, and a tiger couched on its sum m it the become prom inent in literatu re, al- were sum m arily put to the sword, | thereby from their pursuers; he picture of benignity. though poor in th e goods of this while these women were reserved was with Daniel in the den of lions, It is true enough th a t these world. The leaders in society had for great refinem ents of torture. | with the Hebrew .children in the invited M ark Twain to a reception H aving been forced to witness the ' fiery furnace; and from th a t time women have won the crown of m a r tyrdom . They are m arty rs to and he had about concluded to go j m urder and outrage of th eir com-1 to the day when in answ er to the th eir faith in God which a m illion when he asked if his friend would panions, they were stripped of their p ray er of Dwight L. Moody he m artyrdom s like th eir own declare also be present. T he reply was ;> clothing and paraded before crowds 1 brought into port the steam er ¡to he a fivment »1 • • to he a figment of the im agination. th a t he had not been invited. In - being carried through the streets 1 Spree— which, we are told m ust \VP „ % t • 1 e lma8lnal,on- t -------------— etan tly Mr. Clemens said th at, in a ttitu d e s the m ost shocking to otherw ise infallibly have been lost ¡faith, but we can w ithdraw ‘ onr un d er no circum stances, would be th eir feelings of m odesty. U nder - b e has m anifested the livliest in- ! sunnort from a J u atten d the function, and when an conditions indescribably revolting terest in the safety of those who and ecclesiastic!»™ u- ^ ,crarcb -v ex p lan atio n was pressed for he said they became victim s of the inflam ed believed in him . .. • .. which fatten s a few th in g s th a t m ade the snobs ' soldiery, no san ctu ary of th eir per- j Not only has he to each of these T h e i / b l o o d i a°f fee! ra th e r hum ,H ated. sons being spared, and each being a t some tim e or other, if we m ay priests a ”d m inisters f I h In an o th er ease he assisted in a reading, and, finding th at the other m an was in need of money, refused to accept a penney for his services. All the proceeds went to the poor er m an. Some F a m ilia r T e rm s D efined. In the L iterary Guide of L on don, Mr. F. J . Gould furnishes some definitions of term s of differ ent m eanings, but often used in ter changeably: A F ree th in k er is one who does not hesitate to th in k independently on religious and kindred questions, compelled to particip ate in the credit th eir word, vouchsafed a degradation of th e other. A fter- providential escape from danger ward the h a ir of th eir head was and death, but he h as brought sure tied to the ends of poles and they and swift retribution upon the were pushed along th e streets to a wicked. He has been in s ta n t to place of execution, where having drown thoughtless yout for fishing- had their breasts cut off, they were or swim m ing upou the holy day set d Ana r>i t a t o d ■ •• ■ . . .. decapitated. a p a rt by his church fcr WOr- A nd so their to rtu re was ended ship; he has paralyzed the toneue 1 . 6 M eanwhile what was the behavior or petrified j the m uscular system of of the women? It becomes a p p a r blasphem ers; he has raised up ent from the account, th a t they C hristian rulers to hear rule in his had m ade up their m inds to be nam e; he has at tim es given m arty rs for C h rist’s sake, and they C hristian arm ies victory over bore themselves as such, through heathen, and even, so m ysterious ou^’ They sang hym ns, they are his way?, victory over each oth praised God, an d th eir eyes a n d |e r ; he has restored to health per I ce th a t send them . nt time to the f » n » L f— The T ro th S , k '" “ — Th« Trnn M V‘° ' a r ° U8e' I llu U g |]l W 2 2 3 Z lfie Theab,M‘ publication of the k in d in the W orld, S iitT-four pace». __ Sixty-four page«. Illustrated. Published Monthly Price ti.oo a year. For TW ENTY-FIVB CENTS hw,H bemai,ed‘° any address three noNTus Address FREE THOUGHT M a c a z im v gazine , S13 E. Indiana St., Chicago, IU I ay he W ile y B. A lle n Co. T The Oldest ! the harvest ! Music Store. Leading Pi anos and Organs. 309-311 First S t ., PORTLÁND, OREO