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Journal mercedo's Journal: Serpent 12

Journal by mercedo
Serpent was used in a biblical world, in Genesis, as a symbol of seduction to Eve, so their role was not in the least a good one but they were forced to play a bad role there. Actually there are many people who don't like serpent. I don't know there's a word something like a serpentphobe - I know there's a word like aracnidphobe though.

On the other hand, serpent has been long used as a symbol of medicine. Actually under a kind of mysticism, serpent was used as a symbol of endless endeavour toward truth, for example a symbol of evolving two serpents were used as a symbol of elixir, alchemy, etc.

Faust was a real historical figure who practiced alchemy, and if we thought about alchemy in connection with his relationship with Mephisto, we can somehow agree serpent was used as a messenger of Satan in biblical world.

The sex of two opposit sex of serpents are believed to be longest in animals. Serpent is not supposed to be a symbol of something evil but a symbol of humans' endless endeavour toward procreation.

Serpents also evolve several times in their lives. I must say humans are more greedy than serpents, it was us humans to blame Eve ate forbidden apples and recommended Adam to eat, we humans made two mistakes - one is to have eaten apples and the other was we attributed our fault to a serpent.

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  • My wife is currently reading Eve and the Choice Made in Eden [amazon.com] by Beverly Campbell [amazon.com]. One of the thigns she discusses is that if Eve had not eaten the fruit, than none of us would ever be. Simply put, for us to exist, for the human race to have begun, Adam and Eve needed to expelled from Eden.*

    So while the serpent quite possibly lead her down the path, it was something that needed to happen. What I find fascinating about life is how much of the time we find ourselves doing things that we really don't want

    • I just wonder how biblical world is full of paradoxical truth. Garden of Eden is thought to be located at the midst of Mesopotamia -probably Ur, at that time Eden must have had aboundant of fruits as well as other tasty food -honey, wine, etc. If they kept away from eating apples, they would keep on staying in Eden. They kept on doing intermarriage and they all were likely to be swept away by flood.

      The fact was they ate apples that humans never tasted previously then they found it extremely delicious, so t

      • Once again showing how much interpretation comes with reading the Bible. When I read it, it certainly was a banishment for breaking their covenant with God. The theme of breaking covenants winds its way though almost the entirety of the Old Testament and much of the New Testament. For me most of boiled down to a karmic message of, "Do good, good things happen, do bad, bad things happen." But, that is just how I understood it.
        • For me most of boiled down to a karmic message of, "Do good, good things happen, do bad, bad things happen." But, that is just how I understood it.

          And for anyone else who reads Deuteronomy 30. :)
      • Garden of Eden is thought to be located at the midst of Mesopotamia -probably Ur,

        I've seen "three" possible locations. The Bible itself gives the location in Genesis 2:10-14. Though, the Talmud (Tamid 32b [k12.il] (chapter 4)) mentions that Alexander the Macedonian found it on his way back from Africa by following a river that had some extraordinary powers, which was either to make his salty fish taste very good, or it brought it back to life, both good readings of the text. The former is more exact, the latter more
    • Simply put, for us to exist, for the human race to have begun, Adam and Eve needed to expelled from Eden.*

      Not neccesarily. But we would have existed differently, that's for sure.

  • Mmmm..apples. I'm eating one right now, God damn it. Actually, my take on the Genesis garden myth is that it is a very savvy bit of creative mythology. It describes a process that took hundreds of thousands of years during which our species lost its innocence. I doubt the ancient Hebrews understood this in any scientific way, but things [slashdot.org] are often first experienced in the mythosphere before it is possible to get our arms around them scientifically. In this case a few thousand years later, and we are jus

    • It describes a process that took hundreds of thousands of years during which our species lost its innocence.

      That's it.

      Besides after they finished eating apples, they found themselve strange to be naked, then they hid their private parts in fig's leaf. They learned how delicious apples were as well as their activities.

      If you were eating apples, throw one to me, I will catch it in my mouth, oh thanks it's so delicious!

  • Herpetophobia = fear of reptiles
    Ophidiophobia = fear of snakes

  • Moo (Score:2)

    by Chacham ( 981 ) *
    See Number 21:5-9 for another serpent account. Held so high, that in 2 Kings 18:4 it was made into some form of symbol.

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