Torch of reason., May 08, 1902, Image 1

T orch or
“ TRUTH
vot
. < . > «r.'nr» - • .•'.-«r. .
For the Torch of Reason.
B E A R S T H E TORCH
R eason .
IN T H E S E A R C H FO R T R U T H .” —
T r 1 * X*
tell us th a t rnan was created from
T h e D o w n fa ll of D ogm a.
the earth, and the first woman from
one of his bones. All these stories
BY JOHN PRESCOTT GUILD.
are equally authentic a-nd of equal
value to the world, and all the
V X /I T H th a t relig io n w hich re q u ire s
authors were equally inspired.
’ * O u r re a so n ’s sacrifice,
A nd a sk s tr u e love to q u e n c h its fires
To win im m o rtal bliss,
W hich fa ith e n th ro n e s to o u tlaw facts,
G ives ig n o ran c e a crow n,
A nd b lig h ts th e w orld w ith c ru e l a c ts ,—
Down, dow n, fo rev er dow n!
- M
tv W- !
the firstborn of thy sons thou s h a lt’ For th e T orch of R eason.
give unto me.”
S O C IA L IS M .
Has E xodus been a help or a
hindrance to the hum an race? Take
from E xodus the laws common to
all nations, and is there an y th in g of
We know also th a t the story of value left?
the Flood is much older th an the
Is there an y th in g in Leviticus of
book of Genesis, and we know be­ im portance?
Is there a chapter
sides th at it is not true. We know worth reading? W hat interest have
th at this story in Genesis was cop­ we in the clothes of priests, the cu r­
ied from the C haldean. There you tains and candles of the tabernacle,
find all about the rain, the ark, the the tongs and shovels of the altar
anim als, the dove th a t was sent out or the hair-oil used by the Levites?
three times and the m ountain on Of what use the cruel code, the
which the ark rested.
frightful punishm ents, the curses,
How Heredity Is Against It.
BY B E G IN N E R .
I R great Ingersoll showed
most conclusively in T orch
April 10, 302, p. 1, cols. 1-2;
how poverty and vice spring up
T he m in d sh o u ld never be a slave,
faster than they can be destroyed,
N o r fear to walk in lig h t;
He o n ly is th e ra n k e st knave
because the “ baby crop” alw ays
W ho b lin d s th e m oral sig h t.
governs. I propose to build on his
W ith law s w hich fence th e p a th of tr u th
A nd to rc h of reaso n drow n,
reasonings and show how the never-
F o rb id d in g know ledge u n to y o u th .—
to-be-evaded laws of heredity con­
Dow n, dow n, fo rev er dow n!
sp ire , to m ake collective industry
So the H indus, Chinese, Parsees, the falsehoods and the miracles of
not only unsuccessful hut im possi­
A B O U T T H E H O L Y B IB L E *
P ersian s, G reeks, M ex ican s and this ignorant and infam ous book?
ble.
Scandinavians have su b stan tially
And what is there in the hook of
The richest have few children.
And the Foundations of Faith.
the same story. We also know th a t N um bers— with its sacrifices and
Many of the children of the very
the account (if the Tower of Babel water of jealousy, with its shew-
poorest die early. The poor, but
BY ROBERT G. INGERSOLL.
is an ignorant and childish fable. hread and spoons, its kids and fine
not the poorest, breed like rabbits,-
flour,
its
oil
and
candlesticks,
its
\V hat then is left in this inspired
and leave more grow n-up descend­
IV .
cucumbers,
onions
and
m
an
n
a—
book of Genesis? Is there a word
an ts than either of the other tw’O
W H A T IS IT ALL W O R T H ?
calculated to develop the heart or to assist and in stru ct m ankind? classes.
IL L some C hristian schol­ brain? Is there an elevated thought W hat interest have we in the re
The m agnificent apostle of h u ­
ar tell us the value of — an y great principle—an y th in g hellion of K orah, the water separa­
m anity showed how persistent pov­
Genesis? We know that poetic—any word th a t bursts into tion, the ashes of a red heifer, the
erty is, in th a t address, which of
it is not tru e—th a t it contradicts blossom? Is there an y th in g except brazen serpent, the water th a t fol­
all the rich legacy of his speeches,
itself. There are two accounts of a dreary and detailed statem en t of lowed the people uphill and down
was the most powerful and con­
the creation in the first and second things that never happened?
lor forty years, and the inspired vincing, and at the end of his
chapters. In the first account birds
donkey of the prophet B alaam ? m atchless career was fit to be a
Is
there
anything
in
E
xodus
cal­
and beasts were created before man.
Have these absurdities and cruel­ “conclusion of the whole m atter.”
culated to m ake men generous, lov­
ties— these childish, savage super­ A las! his proposed remedy is no
In the second, man was created
ing and noble? Is it well to teach
stitions, helped to civilize the world? remedy at all ! If, as is very im ­
before the birds and beasts.
children th a t God tortured the in
In the first, fowls are tpade out of nocent cattle of the E gyptians—
Is there anything in Jo sh u a — probable, Science could find the
the water.
bruised them to death with hail­ with its wars, its m urders and m as­ magical wand he said was d esira­
In the second, fowls are made out stones— on account of the sins of sacres, its swords dripping with the ble, one capable of being wielded
of the ground.
Pharaoh? Does it m ake us merci­ blood of m others and babes, its by every woman; it finally would
In the first, Adam and Eve are ful to believe th a t God killed the tortures, m aim ings and m u tila ­ be goodbye to m arriage and the
firstborn of the E g y p tian s— the tions, its fraud and fury, its hatred home, while in d u stry , since it is
created together.
based ou the home, would be u n ­
In the second, Adam is made, firstborn of the poor and suffering and revenge—calculated to im prove
derm ined and grass would grow in
then the beasts and birds, and then people—of the poor girl working at the world? Does not every chapter
our streets. S trange indeed th a t
Eve is created from one of A dam ’s the m ill— because of the wickedness shock the h eart of a good man? Is
j of the king? Can we believe that it a hook to he read by children? so clear-headed and b rillian t a
ribs.
1 he book of Jo sh u a is as merciless thinker did not see this.
These stories are far older than the gods of E gypt worked miracles?
The reader m ust bear in m ind
as fam ine, as ferocious as the heart
the Pentateuch. Persian: God cre­ Did they change water into blood
of a wild beast. It is a history— a th a t Ingersoll dem anded of Science
ated the world in six days, a man and sticks into serpents?
justification — a sanctification of th a t the wand must not be one th a t
called Adam a, a woman called
In Exodus there is not one orig­
the intelligent and prudent alone
nearly every crim e.
Evah, and then rested. The E tru s­ inal thought or line of value. We
The book of Judges is about the could wield (they have one fairly
can, Babylonian, Phoenician, C hal­ know, if we know an y th in g , this
effective now '), but one which the
dean and the Egyptian stories are book was written by savages— sav­ same, nothing hut war and blood­
thoughtless and thriftless could use
much the same.
ages who believed in slavery, pol­ shed; the horrible story of Jael and
Sisera; of Gideon and his trum pets and which therefore would he av ail­
The Persians, Greeks, E gyptians, ygam y and wars of exterm ination.
and pitchers; of Je p h th a and his able ot course, for unm arried youth
Chiuese and H indus h are their We know th a t the story told is im­
daughter, whom he m urdered to in their teens. The wave of conse­
G arden of Eden aud the Tree of possible, and th at the m iracles were
please Jehovah. Here we find the quences, feeble at the beginning,
Life. So the Persians, th e B abylon­ never performed. T his hook admits
story of Sam som , in which a sun- would rise and spread till c iv iliz a­
ians, the N ubians, the people of th a t there are other gods besides 1
god is changed to a Hebrew giant. tion itself would be engulfed.
Southern In d ia, all had the story Jehovah. In the 17th chapter is
W hat?
Ask Science for such a
Read this hook of Jo sh u a — read
of the Eall of Man and the subtle this verse: “ Now I know th a t the
fatal gift as this ?
Lord is greater th an all gods, for, of the slaughter of women, of wives,
serpent.
The rem edy of Ingersoll being
of m others and babes— read its im ­
in
the
thing
wherein
they
dealt
The Chiuese say th at sin came
worse, incom parable worse, than
possible m iracles,its ruthless crimes,
into the world by the disobedience proudly, he was above them .”
and all done according to the com ­ the disease, we are obliged to fall
So, in this blessed book, is taught
of woman. And even the T ahitians
hack on his first position aud con­
m ands of Jehovah, and tell me
the duty of hum an sacrifice—the
clude th a t a m easure of povertv,
♦T hese w onderful discourses of Ingersoll are
w
hether
this
book
is
calculated
to
not to be had except in the T h ird and Fourth sacrifice of babes.
In the 22nd
vice and crim e will alw ays be in ­
volum es of the Dresden e d itio n . W e will p rin t
m ake us forgiving, generous and
them in parte—each p art reads as a whole. We chapter is this com m and: “ Thou
separable from hum anity. If this
do this because u n til the people are em ancipated
loving.
from th e C atholic C hurch, the P ro te sta n t Hible, shalt not delay to offer the first of
is pessimism I cannot help it. All
and the belief in ‘‘the s u p e rn a tu ra l,” there is no
hope for th is w orld.—E d . I o k c h .
thy ripe fruits and of thy liquor-;
the hope and gladness, all the sun-
(T o be C o n tin u e d .)
W
O