Even the learned Sir Matthew Hale, one of England's most enlightened Christian jurists, sentenced a "number of poor women to be hanged in 1664 as witches;" and the reason he assigned for it was, that "the Bible leaves no doubt as to the reality of witchcraft, and the duty of putting its subjects to death." Thus we have an illustration of the enormous evils which have grown out of Bible superstitions, perpetuated by those who were so ignorant as to accept the book as authority. Witchcraft, which was believed by Bible writers and Bible Christians to be the work of the Devil or of evil spirits, is now well understood in the light of modern science as to its causes, of which Bible revelation was ignorant. As the want of space will permit no farther exposition or enumeration of Bible crimes, we will sum up the whole thus: Murder, theft, robbery, war, slavery, intemperance, polygamy, concubinage, fornication, rape, piracy, lying, assassination, treachery, tyranny, revenge, persecution for religious opinions, vagabondism, degradation and enslavement of women, hypocrisy, breach of faith, suicide, vulgarity or obscenity, witchcraft, flogging, cursing, swearing, &c. We have cited texts and examples in proof of the statement that all these crimes, and others not here enumerated, are sanctioned by God's "holy word," and were perpetrated by God's "holy people," as they are called. And yet a Christian writer declares, "The Lord kept his people pure, holy, and upright through every period of their history." A statement could hardly be made that would be farther from the truth. It is another evidence of the blinding effect of a false religion. Again we ask, should a book, lending its sanction to the long catalogue of crimes herein enumerated, and which represents them as being in accordance with the will of a holy and a righteous God, be placed in the hands of the illiterate and credulous heathen as a guide for their moral conduct? Most certainly it must have a deleterious effect upon their morals; and yet hundreds of thousands are distributed amongst them every year by the Christian churches and missionary societies. And then think of making such a book "the fountain of our laws, and the supreme rule of our conduct," as urged by the Evangelical Alliance and the orthodox churches. We almost tremble at the thought of such a step toward barbarism and demoralization. CHAPTER XLVIII.--IMMORAL INFLUENCE OF THE BIBLE.