Woman Fatally Bitten by Snake in Church

breitbart.com ^ | Nov. 8, 2006 | breitbart

[wideawake]

There surely are very few willing to accept that part of the Gospels, as you can see from this thread most think it's silly, or even stupid to follow very clear words.

Stop twisting the words of the Gospel.

It's positively sickening.

The Gospel says arousin "to take up, to bear away, to remove" - the notion here is obvious to 99.999% of all Christians who have ever lived. When snakes threaten people and a Christian boldly steps up to protect himself or others by removing (arousin) the snake, he will not be harmed.

Likewise, if a malicious person attempts to poison a faithful Christian they will not be harmed by drinking the poison.

Anyone who reads the Scripture as an encouragement by Christ to tempt God and deliberately place themselves in danger by playing with venomous snakes or drinking poison for kicks has not only misread the verse but every other verse in the Bible.

Tempting God and presumption are sins, and Christ is not commanding anyone to sin, despite your sinister misinterpretation.

[Moonman62]

See post #39.

[wideawake]

Not true.

Not true? So Christ spoke silly words, then?

[wideawake]

LOL! If you're this bad at sarcasm, you should quit.

[Always Right]

Not true? So Christ spoke silly words, then?

I did not say that. I pointed out the words that are being misinterpreted by the snake handlers.

[wideawake]

So then you agree with my statement - That Christ;s words were not silly - and you retract your claim that my statement was "not true."

And yes, it is a completely bogus interpretation.

[DBrow]

Thank you for your interpretation. My version is in English, what language is arousin, and which version of the Bible do you have?

What about speaking in new tongues, casting out devils, and healing hands? These are also important features. How do they translate?

I have long felt that the Bible, like the Koran, must be read in the original language to be understood properly.

[Tuscaloosa Goldfinch]

Jesus' words (when referring to serpents) were allegorical -- the word "serpent" is representative of Satan and demons - Satan is referred to in scripture as a serpent; indeed, the first time we see Satan in the Bible, he comes in the form of a snake.

[TommyDale]

"I live on the Kentucky/Tennessee border, where all of the snake handlers live. "

There are also some in North Carolina. Don't sell them short on ignorance.

[wideawake]

Thank you for your interpretation.

You are welcome to the interpretation - but it's not my personal one. Far better interpreters than I have come to these conclusions.

My version is in English, what language is arousin, and which version of the Bible do you have?

Arousin is Greek, and in this case I am using the Textus Receptus.

What about speaking in new tongues, casting out devils, and healing hands?

The same rule applies.

Christ is not saying that Christians should go out and actively invent new tongues just so they can speak in them.

He is saying that new tongues will come upon Christians as a sign.

He is not saying that Christians should encourage people to become demonically possessed just so demons can be cast out - he is saying that when Christians do encounter a poor soul who is possessed that Christians will be able to cast the demons out.

He is not saying that Christians should go out and deliberately injure or infect people just so they can heal them later for fun, He is saying that Christians will be able to heal sick people that they encounter.

I have long felt that the Bible, like the Koran, must be read in the original language to be understood properly.

The original language is extremely useful, but a knowledge of the culture and history of Israel is just as important in interpretation.

No one actually knows how to read the original language of the Koran - a good portion of the of the Koran is so obscure that people can only guess at what some of the words and phrases might mean.

It is not written entirely in standard Arabic - some parts were morphologically and definitionally obscure to people who were alive when it was written.

The Greek of the New Testament, by contrast, was fairly standard Koine Greek and there is not a single word in the Greek text whose meaning or etymology is obscure.

If I am not mistaken, every single word in the Greek New Testament is attested somewhere else in Greek literature, while there are hundreds of words in the Koran which never occur elsewhere in Arabic and many of which appear to be Nabataean.

[ruffedgrouse]

--Jesus' words (when referring to serpents) were allegorical -- the word "serpent" is representative of Satan and demons - Satan is referred to in scripture as a serpent; indeed, the first time we see Satan in the Bible, he comes in the form of a snake.--

This has been an unfortunate problem for REAL snakes, most of which are quite beneficial killers of truly harmful rodents. Too bad Satan didn't take the form of a rat, or worse, a rat flea!

[NCC-1701]

New movie potential: "Snakes in a Church".

[cowboyway]

I love rattlesnakes!

They taste just like frog legs.

[Tuscaloosa Goldfinch]

Yep, I usually pass by the harmless ones, and kill the poisonous ones.

[boomop1]

Yawn

[xarmydog]

Same here!I have a 410 just for that very reason.Rattlers here in Texas do not attend church.But,I bless them before I send them to wherever God meant them to be when they die.Drove to Amarillo yesterday[eight hour drive]and lost count how many were dead in the road.I always check under the vehicle at rest stops,as they can take a good deal of punishment before they die.I am cautious that they do not get wrapped around the undercarriage so's not to bring them home.I chopped the head off a rattler in my yard once.It stayed squirming for eight hours,sans head.I would not have believed it if I had not seen it firsthand.Rattlers are NOT your friend!

[ruffedgrouse]

--I am cautious that they do not get wrapped around the undercarriage so's not to bring them home--

A way for lazy reptiles to establish themselves in other parts of the USA. Those trucks coming up from Me-hee-co should bring in some neat stowaways (and I'm not talking about the human ones either).

[xarmydog]

I see it firsthand daily.Here in Texas,there are some critters you need to avoid as it is.Many times you can not avoid them.They get you quite quickly,and can leave some nasty stuff on you bod.There are critters that are not native in Texas,that can be brought over and acclimate very fast.Farmers and Ranchers usually have is what is called a'Bitterweed Wash,prior to entering their property.It is a weed you absolutely do not want to germinate on your property.This is a weed that was not native to Texas if I am correct.Not sure.But it can put the hurt on them if that weed takes hold.That is just one weed.Imagine how many more there are that can fall off and germinate?heck,some may germinate in Illinois!!A good way of dealing with it,is to wash every vehicle entering our country,and vice-a-versa.There are a lot of vehicles headed our way soon.A washing station may cost now,but think of the many problems we can possibly prevent just due to volume.