dzb912;1815122; said:
dzb912;1815825; said:
Um, I kind of thought that you know, thats what this whole post was about....
religion and snakes
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Um, I kind of thought that you know, thats what this whole post was about....
Jeox;1815853; said:
Yes and no. Satan can only possess us if we let him. Since all humans are born into sin, this is something everyone has to deal with.
When a demon possesses someone, its not like they're completely taking over your mind and body and making you do things against your will, in which you're completely powerless. Its really more of them (I know its cliche, but)...leaning over your shoulder and offering suggestive thoughts. Ultimately, it is our decisions and our will what dictates our actions. I'm sure some of you have heard the phrase "the devil made me do it! it wasn't my fault!".....Not the case at all.
Now, some people can become weak-willed enough let "demons" control them; for example, in the control of alcoholism. People let things like that dominate their lives, and the demons just keep feeding those addictive desires into their ear.
However, the good news is, we're just as capable of letting God into our lives the same way; the proverbial angel on your shoulder, if you will...which is not too far off since the Bible says every person on the planet has their own guardian angel.
Cold is simply the absense of heat. Darkness is the absence of light. We don't have meters for measuring coldness and darkness; we just measure the amount of heat or light is present.
Likewise, sin is the mere absence of God. If we don't allow God into our lives, sin takes precedence.
Now, to answer your question specifically, we have to argue whether or not animals have souls to possess in the first place. Perhaps they do, but certainly not to the same degree as we do. Animals have concept of religion, or mortality, etc, so animals can't "sin" as we do. They're not held accountable for their actions.
However, animals can still be possessed to be used as tools to meet an objective. God used a dove to bring Noah an olive twig as sign of hope. He made a donkey talk to get Balaam's attention. He sent two bears to maul some brats for making fun of one of His prophets. Likewise, Satan used the body of a "serpent" (whatever that may have been) to communicate with Eve.
not to derail too bad but just thought it was funny I went to the living room and family guy was on.It was adam and eve asking God if they couldnt eat the fruit from the tree if they could at least sit under it.He said it probably just not a good idea and then it showed a bunch of dirty mags behind the tree.Anyways,back to topic,lol.
dzb912;1815149; said:
Just because you dont go to church does not mean you are not a devout Christian. Believing that a snake has to do with the devil is, I believe, a deep misinterpretation. I would do anythign for god and the Messiah(Jesus Christ). God created all living creatures.
Well I have a different look at this. Why is a snake portrayed evil? There has to be a reason why the devil as a serpent is potrayed as a snake. You cannot just say its in the Bible, since people wrote the bible. Through this it was people percieving an animal best representing the devil was a snake, which means that people have had an already negative opinion of a snake before applying it as the symbol of evil.
But then again, snakes are not the most holyest of creatures. "Stealing" eggs, eating baby rodents, baby birds. A very mechanical like instinct living. No eyelids, with there blank stare, and fork tongue and method of locomotion they are very formidable looking. In addition there is venom and contriction, the way snakes eat there prey, it is a long death, compared to a quick gulp or twist of the neck. It is human nature to freak out at things we consider unmoral and unhumanlike, such as the death of a cute baby mouse or rabbit, and the strange movement of a legless creature.
But then again, snakes are not the most holyest of creatures. "Stealing" eggs, eating baby rodents, baby birds. A very mechanical like instinct living. No eyelids, with there blank stare, and fork tongue and method of locomotion they are very formidable looking. In addition there is venom and contriction, the way snakes eat there prey, it is a long death, compared to a quick gulp or twist of the neck. It is human nature to freak out at things we consider unmoral and unhumanlike, such as the death of a cute baby mouse or rabbit, and the strange movement of a legless creature.
In my culture it's bad luck to have snakes in or around your house, usually they're killed on site. Not that I do it, usually I run the other way if I see one in the wild, they're just too creepy for me
mudkeeper;1816410; said:
Ironically though... it is pretty much only western culture (including Middle East) that have a negative views of anything reptilean. Hell, even crocodiles were worshipped by virtually every culture EXCEPT Europeans. Just something to think about. However after Christianization and European colonialism, now mankind FEARS reptiles.
the bible says it was a serpent,not specifying a snake and then after it was a dill hole God then said it was cursed and would then have to crawl on its belly.Its like the serpent was not the snake and the snake should not be looked at as the devil but its looked at as aa cursed animal,but is it just that one or all,it goes too deep.If your into this and show concern then I would just pray on it and folow your heart.Or the holy spirit.If we based it on the above posted reasons then wouldnt we feel the same about tarantulas,scorpions,flys,centipedes,bats,all the things in the haunted house you know.When I look at snakes I see this herp I care for and I see pure beauty.They chill on me like any common animal and are less mischievous than my evil cats.This topic is interesting but if we took it to the bible its really only a breaif couple paragraphs if that,more like 3 sentences,I think we will beat this to death.Feel free though,lol.mudkeeper;1816410; said:
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