Blainer) That was nicely done number one. I liked your extensive discussion of the subject. Itdeserves an "A" for effort and quality. I believe the serpent was definitely a type of Christ, as you mentioned. I am not all that sure exactly what the symbolism is, but I would not exclude the possibility of attributing wisdom to serpents. I have read the passage, "Be ye wise as serpents, yet without sin." I will have to look into this more.
On Thu, 26 Sep 2002 10:23:09 -0400 "David Miller" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: > Glenn wrote: > > 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 ... do you know anything about the medical > > symbol? > > The medical symbol is called the caduceus. It was the magic wand of > the > Greek god Hermes (the Roman god Mercury). It was said that Hermes > conducted > the souls of the dead to the underworld, and he was the god of > dreams and > sleep. Hermes was the messenger of the gods, so heralds and > ambassadors > used the symbol as a badge of their inviobility. > > The Greco-Roman god of healing and medicine was Asclepius. He had a > staff > with a single snake around it. The temples built to Asclepius were > like > hospitals where the sick would come. People would sleep in the > temples, > thinking that the god would heal them in their sleep and dreams. > There are > many inscriptions that exist today, giving testimony to healings. > > The medical profession uses the caduceus of Hermes, which does not > really > have any relevance to the healing god Asclepius, although both > involve > snakes. Exactly how or why this has happened is not clear. > > There are many different explanations given by different sources, > and it is > impossible to know the truth of it all. For example, those who seek > to > disassociate the symbol from Greek mythology have said that early > treatment > of parasitic worms was to cut the patient in front of the worm, put > a stick > in there, and the worm would wind itself around the stick until it > could be > fully extracted. Of course, this does not correspond as closely to > the > symbol as the staff of Hermes, so one must question the motives for > explanations like this one. It seems to me that they are just > trying to > distance themselves from the Greek mythology. > > One connection to witchcraft that I know of is that the Greek word > for > witchcraft is pharmakeia, from which we get our word "pharmacy." > The use of > drugs and medicines has always had a tie to witchcraft, but, of > course, > modern medicine has obvious differences from the practice of > witchcraft. > > The meaning of a serpent is complex and found in many cultures. > Moses did > lift a serpent up on a pole, as Blaine said, but how that is > interpreted can > take many different forms. On the surface, we might say that Moses > crucified the snake on the pole, and hence was showing its > destruction. New > Testament comments about it show that it was a type of Christ. Then > again, > the New Testament explains how Jesus became sin for us, that we > might become > the righteousness of God. So the serpent that Moses lifted up is > still > connected with the idea of evil, if we consider all of this > together. > Blaine might want to make some connection to say that Jesus is a > serpent, > but I think the better understanding here is that Jesus became that > serpent, > he became sin, when on the cross, but now he is not a serpent. I > wonder if > a Mormon like Blaine might prefer a serpent symbol for Christ over > the > symbol of a cross? Maybe he will tell us. > > In my opinion, the serpent generally represents evil and Satan; > however, > there are spiritual forces in this world that seek to make the > serpent > appear good and powerful. I think the caduceus is an example of > that. > While these forces might also seek to make the serpent "good" by > associating > it with the staff that Moses lifted up in the wilderness, I think > spiritual > people will see through that and understand that Jesus became sin > for us on > the cross, but now he is no longer sin or that serpent. He was > lifted up > once on the cross for all mankind, for our healing, but now he is > resurrected, never to taste sin and death again. > > Peace be with you. > David Miller. > > ---------- > "Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that you > may know how you ought to answer every man." (Colossians 4:6) > http://www.InnGlory.org > > If you do not want to receive posts from this list, send an email to > [EMAIL PROTECTED] and you will be unsubscribed. If you > have a friend who wants to join, tell him to send an e-mail to > [EMAIL PROTECTED] and he will be subscribed. > ---------- "Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer every man." (Colossians 4:6) http://www.InnGlory.org If you do not want to receive posts from this list, send an email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] and you will be unsubscribed. If you have a friend who wants to join, tell him to send an e-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] and he will be subscribed.
