Snakes and the Religious This is an email correspondence which I initiated with a man who had written in a forum that religious people needed more snake education. The thoughts he had placed on the forum were prompted by a newspaper article he had read, which said it was biblically wrong to use snakes for educational purposes or to have them as pets.
My purpose in putting this here is to explain my views on this, and to also better explain the nature of this web site; hopefully you will find more here than what the title alone suggests.
(My Letter)
Hi,I was reading in a forum and saw your post on religious people needing more reptile education. First of all let me explain that I do not consider myself religious. I have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and it is as real as any personal relationship. The word "religious" carries with it the connotation of something that is a belief, even though it may be a false one; that is not what I have. Anyway, I would disagree with the lady who wrote in the newspaper about snakes being wrong to own, etc. In fact, I give presentations and use my snakes to present a biblical message about sin, while at the same time trying to curb peoples fear of snakes and show them that snakes are another part of God's creation and that they too have their place here on this earth. If you are interested you can visit my website (link below). Click on "Slay The Serpent Ministries" concerning these presentations.
Of course, you are free to disagree with what you find there; I didn't write to you to start a debate, I just thought you might be interested in a different view, from another "religious" person.
Thanks,
Mitch
(Reply Received) Hi there,
I commend you greatly for using snakes in the religious context of your presentations. I can't help to feel animosity about the bible's portrayal of the snake, and how that has influenced modern opinions. The ladies that I had a debate with in the paper represented an extreme view of snakes, and I realize that (I will posting scanned images of the articles soon). However, I encounter the same derived attitudes about snakes on a daily basis from my work and it gets discouraging.
I know that my subject heading in the post made it seem like I was attacking religious people, I was not. Rather I am open minded and tolerant of the people who unjustly assert their opinions, much in the same way I expect those people to be open minded with me. There are still many, many religious people who don’t understand the underlying meanings of the bible’s stories, and preach that snakes are evil (that was the headline by the way… "Snakes are Evil").
I just checked your URL, and I wish I had that as a resource when I was writing my rebuttals in the newspaper. In the first, I used religion, but weakly, to prove my point. The second article by one of the ladies totally bashed me, she actually misquoted me, and then went on for a paragraph about how I had misinterpreted the bible! My second rebuttal I used indisputable facts about snakes and how you should be more scared of everyday things than you should of snakes! Then after that the editor stated she would not be accepting letters on the subject anymore. I will have to get those pics up soon. I wish I could have provided a link to your web site in the editorial.
I will be printing out the info on your site so I can use the next time someone decides to throw a few bible verses in my face (non-confrontational of course). Well I appreciate your interest, and your efforts to resolve snake phobias, because that is just what they are!
(My Response) Thanks for the reply. I appreciate what you had to say and would like to comment on a couple of things. I have broken your email down to reply to it. I sometimes have a tendency to "chase rabbits" if I don't do it this way.
>I can't help to feel animosity about the bible's portrayal of the snake, and how that has influenced modern opinions.
Personally, if the Bible says it, I believe it (see "God's Word"). However, I don't see where the Bible's portrayal of snakes is necessarily bad. In the cases where the Bible is speaking of a serpent (snakes) and not "the serpent" (Satan), it is almost always speaking of a venomous species and often using them in a true analogy; for example:
"Rescue me, O LORD, from evil men; Preserve me from violent men, Who devise evil things in their hearts; They continually stir up wars. They sharpen their tongues as a serpent; Poison of a viper is under their lips" Psalms 140:1-3.
This verse isn't saying that snakes are evil, instead it is likening malicious gossip and/or slanderous speech of evil men to the venom of a poisonous snake which is deadly. It is the same thing that James is talking about in the following scripture: "For every species of beasts and birds, of reptiles and creatures of the sea, is tamed, and has been tamed by the human race. But no one can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil and full of deadly poison" James 3:7-8.
I don't believe that a hatred of snakes is so much a biblical problem as a cultural one. I work with eight guys and only one is a Christian, but all of them, except for maybe one, dislike snakes.
The problem with people who are "religious" is that they often take the Bible (which is given to us by God so that we can understand Him and His purposes) and either intentionally or blindly twist it to support their own pre-conceived beliefs. If they do not like snakes (or whatever), they will take scripture passages such as the one above out of context to support what they already believe, while missing what God is really saying. This is nothing new; Jesus dealt with this same thing with the religious people of His day (Mark 7:1-23). By the way, this is a good time to point out that there is an eternal difference between being religious, and truly knowing the Lord and therefore also being able to understand and love Him and His purposes. Paul, talking to other Christians sheds a little light on this in 1 Corinthians 2:12-14:
"Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things freely given to us by God, which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words. But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised."
Becoming a Christian is a work that God does within a person. There isn't anything religious about it. This is what the Bible refers to as being "born again." People who are merely religious try to mimic this without the new birth having ever taken place. As a result, since they are unable to discern the spiritual things of God because the Spirit of God does not indwell them, they develop erroneous teachings and beliefs about the Bible. If you haven't already, please read Serpents! have You Fallen Prey? This will better explain all of this and it can be read in nine daily readings that will take just a few minutes each. Even if you do not care to read it, it might be a good idea to recommend it to the next religious person you deal with concerning this issue.
>Rather I am open minded and tolerant of the people who unjustly assert their opinions, much in the same way I expect those people to be open minded with me.
I certainly appreciate that. I'm sure that we probably do not agree on everything, perhaps not even on the content of my poem about God's Word (link above) but I believe in time the truth will be revealed, God has promised that. We'll have to just wait and see. I also believe that a lot of people, especially those who are religious, are going to be terribly surprised.
>Well I appreciate your interest, and your efforts to resolve snake phobias, because that is just what they are!
I certainly agree. Take care, and happy herping.
Mitch
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