Orvieto, Exterior of the Duomo
The Bible Relief: Original Sin
The snake, or dragon for the Hebrew word does not differentiate between the two, are iconic in ancient and modern cultures. From the very ancient kingdoms to today’s Gnosticism, snakes present as symbols of power, life and spiritual attainment, usually. What does this mean to those who believe they live in a modern (without God) culture free from the superstitions of the past?
Well, modern cultures do not live without a god, that is an illusion in itself; therefore, to deny the truth is to operate in ignorance and thus be under the sway of that which one denies. One can be ignorant of or even deny the relationship between electricity, ionic liquids and tall structures; however, this will not prevent you from being struck by lightning standing under a tall tree in a thunderstorm and can place you in considerable danger because of one’s ignorance! Much of our discussion is philosophically metaphysical, outside of science which is empirical (physical) but this does not negate its truthfulness and power for all empirical forces have a metaphysical basis (He 11:1-3).
In American public school education pupils are taught that the Hebrews “stole” many of their ideas from surrounding cultures, and then destroyed those surrounding cultures and substituted their own “truths” in the form of mythologies that today we call the Old Testament. Therefore, we must look at the veracity of this belief for it has no basis in fact. For instance, many believe that the Hebrews gained their belief of a monotheistic god from the Egyptian pharaoh, Akhenaton. It is for this reason that many choose a “late” date for the Exodus, if they believe it at all, though it does not fit national or historical chronology very well. An early date for the Exodus fits very well within Egyptian and surrounding regional historical chronologies very well but challenges their worldview forcing an acceptance of the biblical text. An early Exodus date (1440s B.C.) shows that the Egyptians obtain their understanding from the Hebrews, not the Hebrews from the Egyptians, though with considerable distortion. But, if the Egyptians did develop monotheism, for arguments sake, what was the source of their monotheistic belief? There is no basis I could find in my modest search of ancient cultures of any monotheism apart from the Hebrews and they did not develop it on their own – it was given to them by a metaphysical force, God (Jo 4:23-24).
Therefore, God gave to man an understanding of Himself (Ro 1:18-24) which was rejected. God preserved knowledge of Himself in the Hebrews which seeped outward into surrounding ancient kingdoms until the world was ready for Christ’s coming (Ep 1:7-10). Thus, it was not the Hebrews who took from other cultures but other cultures were influenced by the Hebrews! The very ancient kingdoms had their source in Nimrod who developed the first truly united kingdom with theology at its core (Ge 10:8-12; 11:1-9). When God overthrew this kingdom through the development of different languages (read: philosophical/worldview systems) man then coalesced into three major groups that further subdivided over time; however, they kept the original beliefs gained at Babel, altering them to fit their new worldviews which evolved over time into the various world cultures we are familiar with today. Nimrod went on to develop the Assyrian kingdom while the Akkadian and Sumerian kingdoms also developed along with the Egyptian kingdom.
Sumerian Tree of Life with Snake
Egyptian Uraeus (Snake)
Worn Only by Pharaoh
The events in Exodus, occurring in the very ancient, and powerful, kingdom of Egypt, shook the ancient world. The knowledge of the Jews leeched outward influencing the contemporary kingdoms and cultures during what has become known as the Axial Age. It was during this period that the major religions of the world were developed (Confuscism, Hinduism, Jainism, Taoism, Buddhism, Laoism, Zoroastrianism, Mycenaean/Hellenistic mythology/philosophy, and the Hebrew prophetic period).
Mycenaean/Hellenistic Medusa
Head of Snakes Turned People to Stone
It is from these foundations that our modern world has developed; therefore, to understand today it is imperative that we have a clear understanding of the past for in truth there is no difference between religion and philosophy. I see philosophy as modern man’s attempt to explain the physical apart from any metaphysical influence. This attempt has failed and the ancient beliefs have only taken on a more modern appearance to influence those ignorant of their beliefs. I would refer the curious reader to my lessons on Genesis and Eschatology which can be found on this site under the Sermons heading for additional information on this fascinating discussion.
Serpent in the Garden
Offering Man Knowledge
The events are familiar in some form to most people exposed to the Bible (Ge 3:1-5). Satan speaks through a snake/dragon tempting the Woman with knowledge to be as gods if she would just worship him rather than God (obedience is intimately bound to worship – you obey the one you worship, respect). Woman eats, offers to man who eats and all are disciplined by God. This Scripture is regulated to a “story” and disarmed of its truth by the superior knowledge of modern man, at least according to modern man. First, Satan is not the serpent but using the animal which occurs on rare occasions {Balaam’s donkey speaks to him, and he answers (Nu 22:22-33; Lk 8:26-33)}. This issue is not talking animals but man’s knowledge that spirit(s) {metaphysical} were using animals {physical} to speak to man about God {Who is Spirit and Truth}. The issue is not knowledge but the source of one’s knowledge. Satan {Accuser (Re 12:9-10)} seeks to make man “broad-minded” to find “truth” from many sources {which all emanate from him (1Co 10:19-20)}, a single source {deceiver (Jo 8:44)}. Man and woman then, and now, have chosen the broad gate while God only gives His knowledge to those who enter the narrow gate, who come only to Him (Mt 7:13-14; Lk 13:24). Sinful man, which is everyone ever born, cannot understand the knowledge of God unless he, or she, is born again (Jo 3:5-6; 1Co 2:13-14). Thus, sinful man finds “truth” at the mouth of the snake/dragon. This is the reason that every culture sees the snake/dragon as the source of life, except the Bible, except Christianity {those who have been born again against those who use the Bible as a source of religion based on works}.
This is why there is commonality between the various religions and why all religions despise true Christianity. True Christianity is truth that comes only from God (true worship). It testifies to the error of other sources. Since they cannot defeat it with truth they must necessarily attack it by any means to suppress it. Thus, those of “tolerance” practice tolerance among themselves but not toward the truth for it shows them as they are, harbingers of death, even in their ignorance. This is why Christianity is the single most persecuted faith in the world today resulting in the deaths of more people in the past century than in all the previous centuries since the murder of Christ, all without a single word from the news organs of the world.
Commonality Uniting All Faiths
into a Single Peaceful Union of Love
This is the first in a series of posts presenting an apologetic defense of the Bible, an explanation of the violence and discoherence of today’s world and the gospel message of hope to those who have no hope but look for hope. Unity around a false hope is nothing more than logical fallacies (appeal to majority, appeal to authority, appeal to history, appeal to feelings and so forth) masquerading as truth. This truth is appealing for it sings the siren call to the sinful flesh. It masquerades under many disguises, even political guises to persuade the masses of its “correctness”; yet, it only leads to death.
