Wow. Some people's fear/ignorance.

[Hardwikk]

To answer your question, Genesis 3, verses 14 and 15:

14 The LORD God said to the serpent,
"Because you have done this,
cursed are you above all the wild beasts
and all the living creatures of the field!
On your belly you will crawl
and dust you will eat all the days of your life.
15 And I will put hostility between you and the woman
and between your offspring and her offspring;
her offspring will attack your head,
and you will attack her offspring's heel."

The verse "And dust you will eat all the days of your life" is not meant literally. It means everything they eat will taste like dust and that their food will be so common (mice are pretty common) that they will no longer have help from G-d.

[littleindiangirl]

To answer your question, Genesis 3, verses 14 and 15:

14 The LORD God said to the serpent,
"Because you have done this,
cursed are you above all the wild beasts
and all the living creatures of the field!
On your belly you will crawl
and dust you will eat all the days of your life.
15 And I will put hostility between you and the woman
and between your offspring and her offspring;
her offspring will attack your head,
and you will attack her offspring's heel."

See, what I was taught in catechism was that God was talking to Satan himself. Not to the serpent, but to satan in the serpents form.
Of course, us rebellious Lutherans are known for stirring things up a bit.

lol, I just reread the chapter, and the use of serpent is in the context that the serpent is satan. I can see where people would misconstrue the serpent part meaning God was actually talking to a snake. I think the context of the chapter is denoting that God was (again) talking to satan and referring to him as a "serpent".

[LGL]

lol, I just reread the chapter, and the use of serpent is in the context that the serpent is satan. I can see where people would misconstrue the serpent part meaning God was actually talking to a snake. I think the context of the chapter is denoting that God was (again) talking to satan and referring to him as a "serpent".

I agree with this. I think that God is actually talking to Satan who is in the form of a serpent, not the serpent itself. After all, God made snakes. Why would he make something evil?

[PythonWallace]

I agree with this. I think that God is actually talking to Satan who is in the form of a serpent, not the serpent itself. After all, God made snakes. Why would he make something evil?

Why did God make Lucifer? I do agree, I mean, snakes don't speak English, much less Aramaic or whatever the spoken language of Eden was.

[NightLad]

If I had a mind to, I'd have mentioned the various cultures, societies and religions throughout time that revered the snake as a symbol of health, wisdom, immortality, and even Divinity. Several deities had the snake as a patron symbol, and a few even took the form of a snake themselves.

Check out this Wiki article about Snakes in Mythology

Actually, one of my best friends is completing his PhD in Theology at a Christian University on his way to becoming a Priest, and he mentioned the quote about serpents crawling on their bellies after I introduced him to Salzedo. He said it as a joke, and we have that type of good-natured 'ribbing' humor with each other. He afterwards explained that the word that was translated to Serpent in other parts of the Bible could equally be used to describe Nile crocks.

We had a lenghtly discussion about mythology, spirituality, and the ancient world from which such things originate. My friend mentioned that fear of snakes would have been common in the ancient mid-east, at the time of the OT, as many were to be rightly feared. The Asp, for example, is frequently mentioned. The OT contains a large collection of ancient Jewish tribal laws from the period designed to keep people safe. In addition to instilling a fear of snakes, it also warns against the spread of dark spirits if sick people are housed with healthy. Today we call it quarantine to avoid the spread of illness.

[pythontricker]

HAHAHAHA I CREATED AN ACCOUNT ON THAT SITE LABLED PYTHONTRICKER. it askes my reason for sighning up and all and i said i own pythons and other herps and im a proud christian. i have no shame in owning snakes and they are not evil.now im going to sign in and just verbaly beat the crap out of that guy!!! hahahaha

[PythonWallace]

Maybe post some facts for the guy and tell him he's grossly misinformed, but I wouldn't blast him. Might end up making him look like the good guy.

[mischevious21]

What is the worst experience any of you have had in dealing with uneducated people's ignorance?

THATS by far the worst Ive ever seen!! EVER!! My aunt hates snakes- but still she's not like THAT. She just doesnt like them, but doesnt think that I own them to feel 'powerful' or because I'm in a 'gang'.... Wow.. Thats unbelievable...

[pythontricker]

Maybe post some facts for the guy and tell him he's grossly misinformed, but I wouldn't blast him. Might end up making him look like the good guy.

oh of corse. but if he starts saying things like "the power of christ compells you" or "the devil has possesed you" or some crap then ill blast him! hahahaha. PWNAGE

[pythontricker]

argh it wont let me post anything.