" It is not true. It is continually acted upon, and
always will be so long as it is made part of one sacred book.
William the Second acted upon it. His German God which wrought
such mischief in the world was the reflection of the dreadful
being who ordered that captives be put under the harrow. The
cities of Belgium were the reflection of the cities of Moab.
Every hard-hearted brute in history, more especially in the
religious wars, has found his inspiration in the Old Testament.
"Smite and spare not!" "An eye for an eye!", how readily the
texts spring to the grim lips of the murderous fanatic. Francis
on St. Bartholomew's night, Alva in the Lowlands, Tilly at
Magdeburg, Cromwell at Drogheda, the Covenainters at
Philliphaugh, the Anabaptists of Munster, and the early Mormons
of Utah, all found their murderous impulses fortified from this
unholy source. Its red trail runs through history. Even where
the New Testament prevails, its teaching must still be dulled and
clouded by its sterner neighbour. Let us retain this honoured
work of literature. Let us remove the taint which poisons the
very spring of our religious thought.
This is, in my opinion, the first clearing which should be
made for the more beautiful building to come. The second is less
important, as it is a shifting of the point of view, rather than
an actual change. It is to be remembered that Christ's life in
this world occupied, so far as we can estimate, 33 years, whilst
from His arrest to His resurrection was less than a week.
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