Had the Bible been the word of God we should have found in it a lofty
and a pure ideal of God. We should not have found in it open approval--
divine approval--of such unspeakable savages as Moses, David, Solomon,
Jacob, and Lot.

Let us consider the lives of a few of the Bible heroes. We will begin
with Moses.

We used to be taught in school that Moses was the meekest man the
world has known: and we used to marvel.

It is written in the second chapter of Exodus thus:

And it came to pass in those days, when Moses was grown, that
he went out unto his brethren, and looked on their burdens:
and he spied an Egyptian smiting an Hebrew, one of his brethren.

And he looked this way and that way, and when he saw that
there was no man, he slew the Egyptian, and hid him in the sand.

And when he went out the second day, behold two men of the
Hebrews strove together: and he said to him that did the
wrong, Wherefore smitest thou thy fellow? And he said, Who
made thee a prince and a judge over us? intendest thou to kill
me as thou killedst the Egyptian? And Moses feared, and said,
Surely this thing is known.

The meekest of men slays an Egyptian deliberately and in cold blood.
It may be pleaded that the Egyptian was doing wrong; but the remarks