Here is a brief glimpse of how The Truth Seeker began in the 19th Century. D.M. Bennett A Truth Seeker By Rob Bradford In 1848, a Kentucky man read an infidel publication which began to erode his confidence in the truth of the Bible and Christianity — the truth about God, which he was taught as a child by his Methodist mother in Springfield, New York; the truth he learned memorizing thirty verses of the New Testament every week, which he recited for his Sunday school teacher; the truth he believed for twelve years as a member of the strict religious sect called the Shakers. Two years later, together with his Bible and prayer, this man, DeRobigne Mortimer Bennett, spent an anxiety- filled night reading Thomas Paine's Age of Reason At dawn, this devout Christian, who had prayed four times a day since childhood, discovered a new truth. With this new truth came old questions about God, the Bible and the efficacy of prayer. He agonized over the new revelations and ruminated about his years spent living in a fog of religious dogma. Had he been deceived since childhood? Was he sold a bill of goods? Was the Bible fiction? Over the next two decades, he studied secular books and became increasingly liberal in his theological opinions. He began sharing his views with the local clergy and questioning their sermons which were printed regularly in the newspapers. After he proclaimed his opposition to slavery, the ministers responded from the pulpit with lectures against this outspoken Yankee who doubted their wisdom and the "Word of God." Determined to be heard, he sent statements to the newspapers. However, the Christian editors would not publish his blasphemy which had a distinctly homespun style. Driven by a fervor of disbelief, he began printing his own little tracts which he scattered all over the place. He was ostracized and the Christian community tried to financially ruin him, but he continued speaking his mind and printing his tracts. Church officials confronted him asking, "Who are you?" He replied, "I am a truth seeker and I must know what is true!" So began Bennett's search for truth that would continue in New York, where he would challenge the puritanical postal censorship law of 1873, and Anthony Comstock, the 'Special Agent' who, in the name of God, enforced it. This challenge would culminate in the most famous civil liberties trial and conviction of the Gilded Age, inspiring 200,000 supporters to petition President Rutherford B. Hayes for his pardon. His search for truth would take him around the world on a crusade against organized religion, superstition and all the hypocrisy a decaying theology inevitably breeds. A crusade that would transform his little tracts into an influential New York City weekly with 50,000 readers, and, like Thomas Paine's pamphlet "Common Sense, would spark a freethought revolution that continues today. A crusade earning him both respect and scorn — ultimately leading to imprisonment, heartbreak and death. To be continued Rod Bradford produced The Truth Seekers video. He is currently doing research for the biography of DeRobigne Mortimer Bennett.