XII, 18, and this phrase offered an affirmation of
the reality of witchcraft during the period of the Witchcraft Delusion.
The Martian notes that the sentence, "Thou shalt not suffer a witch to
live," has caused more suffering, torture, and death than probably any
other sentence ever framed. His mind revolts at the stupidity and the
slavish adherence to so-called authority of the human mind, which is
manifested in this example of what occurred in the period of the
Witchcraft Delusion, when the words of an ignorant and barbaric Hebrew
were taken by Christian followers to be the words of a god. And yet our
Martian guest recognizes that in this day all men are aware of the
fallacy of this utterance in a book which is still claimed to be
infallible.

The Martian then considers the many ancient Hebrew rites and religious
taboos that have come down through the ages, and are still practiced in
a modified form by the modern Hebrew. Thus, in the Old Testament, there
are numerous instances recorded of the practices of slaughtering of
innocent animals who were offered as peace offerings to Yahveh. As time
passed, the practice of slaughtering and then burning the sacrificial
animal gave way to the practice of only giving the blood of the animal
as an offering. This custom has come down to the present day in the
modern worship of Jehovah; the blood of animals is still forbidden to
the modern Hebrew. Therefore, the orthodox Jew has the neck of the
chicken slit by a "Shochet" who allows the blood to drip to the
ground--a modern blood offering to the Gods. The explanations given by
the rabbis of our day are spurious. Similarly, the orthodox Jew of our
time still persists in salting the meat before cooking, a process which
is intended to remove the blood, which is the portion of the Gods.

The reason that the pious Jew abstains from pork leads to the
consideration of Totemism as found in the Old Testament. Totemism is a
kind of worship rendered to animals and vegetables considered as allied
and related to man. The worship of animals and plants is found as a
survival in all ancient societies and is the origin of the belief in the
transmigration of souls. Totemism seems to have been as widespread as
the animism from which it is derived, and has been closely intertwined
in the development of religious beliefs. Totemism in a modified form is
found in the Old Testament where animals speak on occasion, as the
serpent in Genesis, or Balaam's