The Daily Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Or.) 1876-1883, 1882-03-26
As We See 1t.

Sundays issue, in which that indi-
vidual was alluded to as plagia-
rist, started discussion in relation
to the merits of the whole system
of religious teaching. We have
received several communications,
which are carefully fled away, as
being of the class that, like wine,
improve with age. The charge
against Ingersoll, of plagiarism, is
only side show in this circus: we
are all plagiarists as far as that is
concerned: the ideas in this article
are all taken from another man:
every one has to get his ideas from
his fellow-humans: no one that we
know of, ever came into this bright
world with a stock of knowledge
on hand. He had to beg or bor-
row or steal what he knows from
his neighbors, and unless he arro-
gates too much praise to himself,
he is not to be too severely scored
for his efforts to get hold of a few
ideas and thoughts that the human
race have had in common, from
King David down to David Davis.
But the matter of free thought
is world-embracing one. As
general thing, men ought to grow
wiser as they grow older. Some do.
Others do not. All who have prof.
tied by the garnered experiences
of time-who have mingled much
with, and learned the ways of, the
world, the flesh and the devil, and
of the church, also; and who, above
all, are actuated by that spirit of
kindness and charity that should
prevail in our dealings with our
fellow beings,-all of this class will
agree with us that bl nd and un-
reasoning opposition to the estab-
lished religious methods for the
worlds redemption, is not wise.
One may believe all systems of
religion to be false-as the out
growth of barbarism, or as founded
in the ignorance and superstition
of mans undeveloped nature
and yet he cannot intelligently
deny that there is necessity for
religious restraint over the minds
and actions of men--of some men,
of many men-not all, perhaps;
but of such large percentage of
the race as to make the mainte-
nance of the church, in its varied
forms of worship, an essential if
not the main prop of society.
1t may be, and is held by most
free thinkers, that if all religious
teaching was supplemented by
proper instruction in the laws of
health, sobriety, and right living
that If science was made to take
the place of faith and revelation
better general results would follow
than are now witnessed. THIS is
extremely doubtful, for the reason
that the average man lacks the ca
pacity for philosophical application
of the truths of science. The les
sons of nature and the laws of life
are nothing to him. He can only
be reached, and that often indiffer-
emily, through his fears; or stimu-
lated to right action through hope
of reward. 1t is with this somewhat
seriously damaged article of hu-
manity = the average lot, which
most people will concede is bad
lot-that society has to deal, for it
is the lower stratum of this disa-
greeable average that causes socie-
ty the most trouble.
He who derides all church infu-
ences and religious teachings would
hardly care to reside in commu-
nifty where there were no such
influences and teachings - unless
he were permitted to select bis
neighbors, which would scarcely be
possible. Churches and grog shops
may exist side by side; and yet
most persons who take no stock in
either, would rather the two should
exist together than that the grog
shops should have it all to them.
selves. Its only the inconsiderate
and unreasoning infdel-the one
with but one idea. and that badly
demoralized.-who would pull
down the churches and destroy at