Torch of reason., January 29, 1903, Image 1

T orch
R eason .
of
••TRUTH BEARS THE TORCH IN THE SEARCH FOR TRUTH.” — LuCT-etius-
•.
»**•
• • • r
... .... 1
■ RSPA
R etrib u tion .
doctrine of eternal punishm ent is a
dogma of the New Testam ent. This
BY. J . A. EDGERTON.
doctrine, the most cruel, the most
’ y i s a t r u th as old as th e soul of infam ous of which the hum an m ind
th in g s,
can conceive, is taught, if taught at
W h atev e r ye sow ye reap.
all, in the Bible— in the New Tes­
T i s th e cosm ic law th a t forever sp rin g s
tam ent.
F ro m th e u u im a g in ed deep.
'T is show n in th e m anifold sorrow ings
One cannot im agine w hat the h u ­
Of th e race; in rem o rse w ith its se cre t
stin g s;
T h a t he who g rief to his b ro th e r brings man heart has suffered byreason of
Jn his tu r n som e day sh all weep.
the frightful doctrine of eternal
.
, . . .. ,
dam nation.
l o th e m an who h ears his victim s c rie s
It is a doctrine so ah-
A nd h a rd e n s his h e a rt at th e so u n d ,
A t la s t a N em esis d re a d sh all rise
F ro m o a t th e void p ro fo u n d .
W ho sows in se lfish n ess,g reed an d h a te
ShaH gain his d e se rts in th e y ears th a t
h o r r e n t to e v e ry d r o p of m y b lo o d ,
i
•
80 l n f i n l l t l y C rU fl, t h » l
>» 'm p a s -
s ib le fo r m e to re s p e c t e i t h e r th e
h e a d o r h e a r t o f gQy h u m a n b e jn g
F o r th e slow an d re m o rse less wheel of
F a te
F o re v e r tu r n s ’ro u n d an d ’ro u n d .
who teaches or fears it. This doc­
trine necessarily subverts all ideas
of justice.
If ye give o u t of m ercy a n d love an d
lig h t,
T he sam e sh all r e tu r n to you;
F o r th e s ta n d a rd s of rig h t are in fin ite
A nd th e scales of t h e ‘‘L aw s” are tru e .
By its good or evil each life is w eighed;
In m o tiv es a n d d eed s is its rec o rd s
m ade;
In th e coin ye pay ye sh all be rep a id ,
W hen y o u r wages a t la s t fall due.
—[D enver News.
JA N U A
* i R A Y ,,
fi ICÍ M
* •* «"M
.-'»A
’ '-V
• :'•♦• *.<«
A
. i . 4.
If there had been no death the
SOCIOLOGY—
I world would have been filled ages
before you and I were born. T here­ The Spirit and Policies of Civilization.
fore, we owe our existence to the
BY F. H. GIDDINGS, PROFESSOR OF SOCI­
devil.
\\ e are further inform ed th a t as
a consequence of original sin the
scheme called the atonem ent became
necessary; and th a t if the Savior
had not taken upon him self flesh
and come to this atom called the
earth, and if he had not been cruci­
fied for us, we should all have been
cast forever into hell. Had it not
been for the bigotry of the Jew s
and the treachery of J u d a s Iscariot,
Christ would not have been cruci­
fied; and if he had not been cruci­
fied, all of us would have had our
portion in the lake th a t burneth
with eternal fire.
According to this great doctrine,
according to this vast and most
wonderful scheme, we owe, as I said
before, our existence to the devil,
our salvation to Ju d a s Iscariot and
the bigotry of the Jews.
OLOGY IN COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY.
(F ro m “ E le m e n ts of S o cio lo g y .” )
NIM ATED bv its enlarged
ideas of ethnic and territo rial
unity, the slate enters upon
the realization of a positive policy.
It endeavors to bring under one
sovereignty all related people th a t
speak allied languages and th a t
have like interests. It endeavors
to bring under one adm inistration
all fragm ents of territory th a t to ­
gether form a n atu ral whole for
purposes of commerce, social in ter­
course, and m ilitary defence.
At this stage, for the first time,
the essential spirit of civilization is
disclosed. T hat spirit is nothing
more or less than a passion for
homogenity. It is a resistless de­
sire of the social mind to secure to
the utm ost possible degree sym pa­
thetic and formal like-m indedness
throughout a population th at is be­
lieved to have the capacity for
assim ilation; to perfect a social
composition th a t also shall be
homogeneous throughout, and to
establish over it a suprem e and
unified social constitution.
A
To inflict infinite punishm ent for
finite crimes, or rath er for crim es
com m itted by finite beings, is a
proposition so m onstrous th a t I
am astonished it ever found lodg­
m ent in the brain of m an. W ho­
ever says th at we can be happy in
heaven while those we loved on
earth are suffering infinite torm ents
BIBLE ILLUSIONS.
So far as I am concerned, I fail
in eternal fire, defames and calum ­
to see any mercy in the plan of sal­
the hum an neart.
Does the Bible Describe a God of Mercy? niates
*
vation. Is it mercy t r e w a r d a
T H E P L A N OF SA LV A TIO N .
man forever in connection o f believ­
BY ROBERT G. INGERSOLL.
We are told, however, th a t a way ing a certain thing, of the tru th of
has been provided for the salvation which there is, to his m ind, am ple
S there an intelligent C hristian of all men, and th a t in this plan testim ony? Is it mercy to punish
in the world who would not the infinite mercy of God is made a man with eternal fire sim ply be­
* with joy and gladness receive m anifest to the children of men. cause there is not testim ony enough
M ilitarism .— This spirit now be­
conclusive testim ony to the effect According to the great scheme of to satisfy his m ind? Can there be gins to work itself out through v a­
th at all the passages in the Bible the atonem ent, the innocent suffers such a thing as mercy in eternal rious means, the first of which is a
upholding and sustaining polygam y for the guilty in order to satisfy a punish ment?
career of aggression and conquest
And
yet
this
sam
e
Deity
says
to
and concubinage, political ty ran n y , law. \\ hat kind of law m ust it be
to bring into the enlarging state all
the subjection of woman, the en­ th at is satisfied with the agony of me, “ Resist not evil; pray for those those outlying populations th a t are
slavem ent of children, establishing innocence? Who made this law? th a t despitefully use you; love your believed to be suitable com ponents
dom estic and political ty ran n y , and If God made it he must have known enemies, but I will etern ally dam n of the larger nation. This necessi­
th a t all the com m ands to destroy th at the innocent would have to m ine.” It seems to me th a t even tates a perfect in tern al cohesion.
men, women and children, are but suffer as a consequence. The whole gods should practice what they Every interest is sacrificed to m ili­
interpolations of kings and priests, scheme is to me a medley of con­ preach.
tary discipline. To a great extent
All atonem ent, after all, is a kind the organization of society becomes
made for the purpose of subjugating tradictions, im possihilitiesand theo­
m ankind through the instrum en­ logical conclusions. We are told of m oral bankruptcy. U nder its coercive; and to a great degree in ­
tality of fear? Is there a C hristian th a t if Adam and Eve had not provisions,m an is allowed the luxury dividual freedom is sacrificed.
in the world who would not think sinned in the Garden of Eden, death of sinning upon a c re d it* W hen­
All this has its evil side, but it
vastly more of the Bible if all these never would have entered the world. ever he is guilty of a wicked action has also its good side, which m ust
infam ous things were elim inated We are further informed th a t had he says, “charge it.” This kind o f not be overlooked. M ilitary disci­
from it?
it not been for the devil, Adam and book-keeping, in my judgm ent, pline was one of the first and most
>urely the good thingH in th at Eve would not have been led astray; tends to breed extravagance in sin.
powerful m eans by which assim i­
book are not rendered more sacred and if they had not, as I said he-
The tru th is, most C hristians are lation was brought about and a
from the fact th at in the sam e vol- fore, death never would have touch better than their creeds; most creeds
certain degree of formal like-m ind-
ume are found ihe frightful pass- „ | wilh ils icy hand , he hun)an are better than the Bible, and most
edness was established throughout
ages I nave quoted. In my judg- heart.
men are better than their God.— the early civic nation.
m ent the Bible should be read and
If our first p aren ts had never [D resden E dition, Vol. 7.
When conquest and m ilitary o r­
studied precisely as we read and sinned, and death never had en-
ganization have accom plished their
stu< V any hook whatever.
The tered the world, you and I would
O rthodoxy never advances. W hen im m ediate purpose, and m any petty
good in it should be preserved and never have existed.
The earth
it advances, it ceases to be o rth o ­ states and more or less heterogene­
cherished, and th at which shocks WOuld have been filled thousands of
doxy and becomes heresy. O rtho­ ous populations have been consoli­
the hum an h eart should be cast generations before you and I were
doxy is putrefaction. I t is in te l­ dated, the passion for homogeneity
e forever.
born. At the feast of life, death
lectual cloaca; it cannot advance. m anifests itself in further policies,
W hile the Old Iestaraeu t threat- made seats vacant for us. Accord- W hat the church c a lh infidelity
the object of which is to perfect the
ens men, women and children with ing to this doctrine, we are indebt- is sim ply free thought. Every m an
general conform ity of the entire
di. ease, famine, war, pestilence and ed to the devil for our existence, who really owns his own brain is,
population to a prevailing type;
death, there are no threatening» of H ad he not tem pted Eve— no sin.
in the estim ation of the church, an th a t is to say, to increase the formal
punishm ent beyond this life. The If there had been no sin—no death. Infidel.— [ Ingersoll.
like-m indedness of the entire popu-
I