The Rev. Mr. Hilliard, in a sermon preached in New York in 1861, says of the Jews, "They were by nature, perhaps, the most _cruel and blood-thirsty_, as well as idolatrous, people in the world." And yet he says in the same sermon, "that the Lord chose the Israelites because of their adaptedness of character to the carrying out of his divine ends of mercy to the race." What cogent reasoning! Why not select the Devil at once, if beings the most _cruel and blood-thirsty_ were best calculated for "carrying out his divine ends of mercy to the race"? Here is more proof of the evil effects of preaching, or adhering to, a religion which is so full of errors, absurdities, and immoral elements, that it blinds the moral vision, and weakens the reasoning faculties to give it a place in the mind, and leads to a system of false reasoning, and often corrupts the natural judgment. We have more orthodox testimony to show the defective morals of the Lord's chosen people. Dr. Burnet (a Christian writer), in his "Archæologia Philosophie," says, "They were of a gross and sluggish nature, not qualified for the contemplation of natural things, nor the perception of divine ones. And consequently," he tells us, "Moses provided nothing for them of an intellectual nature, and promised them nothing beyond this life,--did not teach a future state of existence." Lactantius says, "They were never visited by the learned men of other countries, because they were never famous for literature." St. Cyril says,