Torch of reason., April 24, 1902, Image 1

“ TR U TH B EARS T H E TORCH IN T H E SEARCH FOR T R U T H .” — L u cretiu s.
VOL. 6.
S IL V E R T O N , O REGON , T H U R SD A Y , A P R IL 24, E. M. 302 (1902.)
NO. 16.
My C o u n try .
Does the Old Testam ent satisfy moon, in accordance with the gen­
S O C IO LO G Y IV .
this stan d ard ?
eral ignorance of the tim e.
BY ROBERT WHITAKER.
Sociology and Morals.
Is there an y th in g in the Old Tes­
It required m any centuries to
M Y c o u n try is th e w orld; I c o u n t
tam en t—in history, in theory, in force the theologians to this adm is­
I ’ * No so u oT m an my foe,
BY P R O F . LESTER F. W A R D .
R eluctantly, full of malice
W h e th e r th e w arm life c u rr e n ts m o u n t law, in governm ent, in- m orality, in sion.
A nd m a n tle brow s like snow ,
Science— above and bevond the and hatred, the priests retired from
O r red , o r yellow , brow n o r b lack,
E R E it is im portant to draw
ideas, the beliefs, the custom s and the field, leaving the victory with
T he face th a t in to m ine lo o k s back.
the line sharply between
prejudices
of
its
authors
and
the
Science.
My n a tiv e lan d is M o th er E a rth ,
Sociology and E th ic s ; be­
A nd all m en are my kin,
people among whom they lived?
They took another position;
tween social action and social fric­
W h e th e r of ru d e or g e n tle b irth ,
Is
there
one
ray
of
light
from
They
declared
th
a
t
the
authors,
H ow ever ste ep e d in sin;
tion. And so I quote from my own
O r rich , o r poor, o r g re a t, or sm all,
any su p ern atu ral source?
or rath e r the writers, of the Bible,
work on Psychic Factors:
I c o u n t th e m b ro th e rs, one a n d all.
The ancient Hebrews believed were inspired in spiritual and moral
“ All desire is for the exercise of
My flag is th e sta r-sp a u g le d sky,
that this earth was the center of things; th a t Jehovah wanted to
W oven w ith o u t a seam ,
some function, and the objects of
the Universe, and th at the sun, make known to his children his
W here daw n a n d su n s e t c o lo rs lie,
desire are such only by virtue of
F a ir as an an g el's d rea m ,
moon and stars were specks in the will and his infinite love for his
T he flag th a t still, u n s ta in e d , u n to r n ,
possible.
children; that Jehovah, seeing his m aking such exercise
skv. W ith this the Bible agrees.
F lo a ts over all of m o rta l born.
people wicked, ignorant and de­ Happiness therefore can only be in ­
They
thought
the
earth
was
flat,
praved, wished to m ake them m er­ creased by increasing either the
My p a rty is all h u m a n k ind,
with four corners; that the sky, the ciful and just, wise and spiritual,
My p la tfo rm , b ro th e rh o o d ;
I c o u n t all m en of h o n e st m in d
and th a t ttie Bible is inspired in its num ber or the intensity of satisfi-
firm
am
ent,
was
solid—
the
floor
of
W ho w ork fo r h u m a n good,
abl e desires. . . . The highest
Jeh o v ah ’s house. The Bible teaches laws, in the religion it teaches and
A nd fo r th e hope th a t g leam s a fa r,
ideal of happiness, therefore, is the
in its ideas of governm ent.
My c o m ra d e s in th is holy w ar.
the same.
This is the issue now. Is the freest exercise of the greatest num ­
My heroes a re th e g re a t a n d good
They im agined th a t the sun Bible any nearer right in its ideas
ber and most energetic faculties.
Of every age a n d clim e,
journed about the earth, and that i of justice, of mercy, of m orality or
Too o ften m ocked, m is u n d e rs to o d ,
This m ust also be the highest e th ­
A nd m u rd e re d in th e ir tim e ,
by stopping the sun th e day could of religion th an in its conception of
ical ideal. But it is clear th at its
B u t s p ite of ig n o ran c e a n d h ate.
be lengthened. The Bible agrees the sciences?
K now n a n d e x a lte d soon o r late.
Is it moral ? It upholds slavery realization wouid abolish moral
with this.
Mv c o u n try is th e w orld, I sc o rn
— it sanctions polygamy. Could a conduct altogether and remove the
They believed th at Adam and devil have done worse.
No lesser love th a n m ine,
very field of ethics from a scheme
B ut c a lm ly w ait th a t h ap p y m o rn
Eve were the first m an and w om an;
Is it merciful ? In war it raised
W hen all sh a ll own th is sign,
of philosophy. To remove the ob­
that they had been created but a the black flag; it com m anded the
A n d love of c o u n try , as of c la n ,
S h a ll y ield to w o rld w id e love of m an. few years before, and th a t they, the destruction, the massacre, of all — stacles to free social activity is to
—[San F ra n c isc o S ta r.
of the old, infirm , and helpless—of abolish the so-called Science of E th ­
Hebrews, were th eir direct decend- i/ivt-s and babes.
ics. The avowed purpose of ethics
ants. T his the Bible .teaches.
Were its laws inspired? H u n d ­ is to abolish itself. The highest
ABOUT T H E HOLY B IB L E *
If an y th in g is, or can be, certain, reds of offenses were punished with
ethics is no ethics. Ideally m oral
death. To pick up sticks on S u n ­
the
waiters
of
the
Bible
were
m
is­
And the Foundations of Faith.
conduct is wholly unm oral conduct.
taken about creation, astronom y, day, to m urder your father on Mon­
day, were equal crimes. There is Or more correctly stated, the h ig h ­
geology; about the causes of phe­ in the literatu re of the world no
BY R O B ER T G. IN G E R SO LL.
est ideal of a m oral state is one in
nom ena, the origin of evil and the bloodier code. The law of revenge
which there will exist nothing th a t
cause of death.
—of retaliation— was the law of can be called m oral.
IS T H E OLD TESTA M EN T IN S P IR E D .
Now, it m ust be adm itted that if Jehovah. An eye for an eye, a
“ W hether we look at th e subject
F it is, it should he a book th at an Infinite Being is the au th o r of tooth for a tooh, a limb for a limb. from tfie stan d p o in t of social pro­
This is savagery— not philosophy.
no m an — no num ber of men— the Bible, he knew all sciences, all Is it ju st and reasonable?
gress or from th a t of individual
could produce. It should con­ facts, and could not have made a
The Bible is opposed to religious welfare, the liberation of social e n ­
tain the perfection of philosophy. mistake. If, then, there are m is­ toleration— to religious liberty.
ergy is the dissideratum . T he Soci­
W hoever differed with the m a­
It should perfectly accord with takes, m isconceptions, false theories,
ologist dem ands it because it in ­
every fact of nature. There should ignorant m yths and blunders in jority was stoned to death. Inves­ creases the progressive power of
tigation was a crime. H usbands
be no m istakes in astronom y, geol­ the Bible, it m ust have been w rit­ were ordered to denounce and to
society. The m oralist should de­
ogy, or as to any subject or Science. ten by finite beings; th a t is to say, assist in killing their unbelieving m and it because it increases h a p ­
Its m orality should be the hig h ­ by ignorant and m istaken men.
wives.
It is the enemy of Art.
piness. For activity means both,
est, the purest.
N othing can be clearer th an this. “Thou sh alt make no graven im age.”
the more activity •
»
This was the death of Art. P ales­ and thererefore
Its laws and regulations for the
For centuries the Church insisted tine never produced a p ain ter or a the better. True m orality not less
control of conduct should be ju st,
than true progress consists in th e
th at the Bible was absolutely true; sculptor.
wise, perfect, and perfectly adapted
Is
the
Bible
civilized
?
It
Up­
em ancipation of social energy and
that it contained no m istakes; that
holds lying, larceny, robbery, m u r­
to the accom plishm ent of the ends
the story of creation was tru e; that der, the selling of diseased meat to the free exercise of power. Evil is
desired. It should contain nothing
its astronom y and geology were in strangers, and even the sacrific of m erely the friction which is to be
calculated to m ake man cruel, re ­
overcome or at least m inim ized. . .
accord with the facts; th at the Sci­ hum an beings to Jehovah.
vengeful, vindictive or infamous.
Is it philosophical? It teaches The tendencies th a t produce evil
entists who differed with the Ol<l
It should be filled with in telli­
There is
T estam ent were Infidels and A the­ th at the sins of a people can be are not them selves evil.
transferred to an anim al— to a
gence, justice, p u rity , honesty, m er­
ists. Now this has changed. The goat. It makes m aternity an offense, no aboslute evil. None of th e p ro ­
cy, and the spirit of liberty.
educated C hristians ad m it th a t the for which a sin offering has to be pensities which now cause evil are
It should be opposed to strife and
w riters of the Bible were not in­ made. It was wicked to give birth essentially bad. They are all in
war, to slavery and lust, to ignor­
spired as to any science. They now- to a boy, and twice as wicked to themselves good, m ust necessarily
ance, credulity and superstition.
say th a t God, or Jehovah, did not give b irth to a girl. To m ake hair- be so, since they have been devel­
It should develop the brain and
oil like th a t used by the priests was
inspire the w riters of his book for an offense punishable with death. oped for the sole purpose of en ab l­
civilize the heart. It should satisfy
the purpose of instructing the world The blood of a bird killed over ru n ­ ing man to exist, survive and pro­
the heart aud brain of the best
about astronom y, geology or any ning w ater was regarded as m edi­ gress. All evil is relative. Any
and wisest. It should be true.
science. They now ad m it th a t the cine. W’ould a civilized God daub power may do harm . The forces
♦T hese w onderful diacoar»es o f Ingersoll are
his a lta rs with the blood of oxen, of nature are good or bad according
not to he had except in the T h ird and Fourth inspired men who wrote the Oid
lambs and doves ? W ould he make
volum es of the Dresden r ditio n . We will p rin t
to where they are perm itted to e x ­
t h e m in p a 'ta —each part read» a- a whole.
>• T estam ent knew’ nothing about any all his priests butchers?
W’ould he
lo thit* because u n til the people are em ancipated
The wind is evil
from the t ath o lic C hurch, the P ro te sta n t Bible, science, and th a t they wrote about delight in the smell of burning flesh ? pend them selves.
and the belief in “ th e su p e rn a tu ra l," there is no
when it dashes the vessel upon
the ea rth and stars, the sun and
(To be Continued.)
hope for this w orld.—E d . T o r < H.
H
I