Quote:
Originally Posted by Intothewind
I've wondered on this funny life thread for a while.
When I was little little my Gma scribbled or tore out all pictures of snakes from an animal book we had. Reason...snakes are evil
An early childhood memory is my father chopping a gophersnake to pieces in our front yard...in part at least because snakes are evil. My young brain wondered what this critter could have possibly done to deserve such a welcoming.
At a yp camp one of the elders captured a young rattlesnake in a bucket. Their was considerable debate and sone other elders wanted to kill it like all the others found because it was evil, a couple others protested this...here I learned that despite what lc folk may say opinions still exist. Said snake was released by the first elder and myself
A lc friend donated a box of audubon encyclopedias to little me who promptly read all of them. Among many other things it sowed seed to the idea that organisms cannot be classified as good or bad but simply are.
I remember a highschool convo with my dad...he tried to defend the young earth and also genesis gap ideas, and mentioned how liking snakes in a christian family is like wearing the wrong colors to a hs
football game. I retorted that hating someone for wearing the wrong colors is very irrational.
I oddly have snakes to thank for showing me irrational human behavior is common and even an integral part of our species.
|
I think it's cool that you were able to draw a broader lesson about irrational human behavior from your experience. Wikipedia says that about a third of adult humans are irrationally afraid of snakes or
ophidiophobic, making this the most common reported phobia. Wiki also notes that "a fear of snakes is alluded to in Genesis 3:15 as a consequence of the serpent's temptation of Eve; this temptation causing her and Adam to commit original sin." So, religious justification for irrational fears started early and continues today.