The serpentine staff you're referring to is called a caduceus. It has Greek origins -- Hermes, the messenger of the gods, carried it as a symbol of peace. Ancient Romans and Greeks created the caduceus as a badge of honor; ambassadors and noblemen carried a long staff entwined with garlands or ribbons to announce their presence. The garlands were later interpreted as snakes, and a pair of wings was added to denote Hermes, the winged messenger. Here's where it gets tricky. The U.S. Army medical corps adopted the caduceus as their insignia because of its similarity to the staff carried by Asclepius, the god of medicine. The staff of Asclepius is considered the "true symbol of medicine" -- it features only one snake, and no wings. It's the emblem of the American Medical Association. The two symbols are quite similar in appearance, and both are derived from Greek mythology. The caduceus generally stands for peace, although it may also serve as a symbol of trade and communication, while the staff of Asclepius stands for healing.
Glenn - You said "A serpent as a symbol of Jesus Christ is not so far-fetched after all, hud?" Blainer, I like your being on TT because you have explained more abut Mormonism in your short time than my friend DaveL has in years. My friend, DaveL, is so full of Mormon spin he just cannot think outside the Mormon bias box. Thanks for comparing your Mormon Jesus with a serpent. It tell me a lot about Mormonism. I can now honestly tell people the Mormon Jesus is a viper Jesus who was created and is the half-brother of Satan. It's all beginning to add up.
Blainer you are so far off base I don't know where to begin. I have a good personal friend who was a medical missionary in Africa. For many years he medically treated people, started churches, hospitals, clinics, etc., He told me the snake on the medical symbol goes back to witchcraft, etc..
DavidM, our resident scholar, do you know anything about the medical symbol?
