Bible Study with Dr. Phillip Clark 8/9/2014 Does Jesus intend for people to handle snakes in Church like this Kentucky man did and died? Jamie Coots, a Pentecostal pastor in Middlesboro, Kentucky, has been practicing snake handling for over 21 years It is a rare Christian tradition based on an interpretation of the ...show more Gabby Little Angel answered No. Just like He did not intend us to jump off of buildings to prove to the devil that angels would protect us. Scripture is clear, we are not to tempt God. That passage was given to us so that, in the event that we encounter serpents, or in the event that someone should attempt to poison you, you could trust in God to be saved. Here is an example: Acts 28:3-5 But when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and laid them on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat, and fastened on his hand. So when the natives saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, “No doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he has escaped the sea, yet justice does not allow to live.” But he shook off the creature into the fire and suffered no harm. SNAKES ARE DEAF For centuries Western science considered snakes to be deaf. For example: The snake has no external ear to stop and no tympanic activity. (Hastings 1902) It seems unlikely that snakes can hear airborne sounds at all well, though doubtless they are sensitive to ground vibrations transmitted through the bones of the jaw. (Young 1962) Actually, the snakes are probably quite deaf to the sound of the pipe and its use is really in the nature of deception. (Barnett 1967) The pipe is merely a stage prop, and it is not used by all performers, because snakes are deaf, or, in other words, they cannot perceive air-borne vibrations. They have no ear drum that in most other terrestrial animals vibrate in time to the airborne waves, and they do not have the system of bones and ducts that convey the vibrations from the eardrum to the sense cells of the inner ear. (Purnell 1969) The Indian Cobra is popularly thought of as dancing to the music of a snake charmers flute. However, snakes cannot hear, and the poised snake is simply following the movement of the charmer. (Students Encyclopedia 1977) The cobras appear to respond to the music played by the charmer, but, like all snakes, are deaf, and only follow the movements of the charmer. (New Illustrated Columbia Encyclopedia 1978) Cobras are deaf and cannot hear the music. The sounds produced on the flute are superfluous, for the pendulum-like movement of the cobras body is merely a response to the movement of the snake charmers flute. (Felix 1983) In fact, the snake cant hear the music, or anything else for that matter. Snakes are deaf! (Fantastic Facts 1986) Although most people assume that the snake is charmed by the music, it cannot hear sounds in the air. (Belinda 1989) Snakes do not have ears; they are deaf to airborne sounds and human voices… (Nowinsky, n.d.) A snake charmer knows details about snakes that we do not know. He knows, for example, that snakes are deaf – they do not dance to the tunes of their masters. (National Geographic website) THE BIBLE Psalm 58 says: The wicked go astray from the womb, they err from their birth speaking lies. They have venom like the venom of a serpent, like the deaf adder that stops its ear, so that it does not hear the voice of charmers or of the cunning enchanter. (58:3-4) The deaf adder is probably the cobra. The Scripture implies that it can hear but is deaf when it stops its ear. The comparison is with the wicked who have the ability to hear but do not listen to counsel. They in effect stop their ears. For the comparison with the cobra to be valid the cobra too must be able to hear but sometimes stops its ear and does not react to the charmer. The implication that cobras can hear put 20th century Christian writers into a quandry particularly after 1923 when science seemed conclusive: The most complete set of hearing experiments ever conducted on snakes – and these were principally on rattlesnakes – were made in 1923. They concluded that rattlesnakes are deaf, in the usual sense of the word, and that no rattler ever heard anothers rattle. (Klauber 1982) George Cansdale (Animals of Bible Lands 1970) shows the Bible to be accurate in hundreds of statements about animals. However, in the case of the cobra Cansdale failed: It is now agreed that all snakes are deaf, though they have some capacity to sense vibrations received through the ground, and the charmer holds their attention by the movement of his pipe, not its music. (p. 206) Anyone can observe that snakes lack external ears. The ear in Psalm 58 must be an internal ear. If snakes are deaf we would not expect them to have an ear – that is an internal ear. Therefore, we have two questions: 1. Do snakes have an internal ear? 2. Can snakes hear airborne sounds? THE NEW YORK TIMES 1954 The New York Times (1954 January 10 Section 4 p. 9) suggested cobras hear but the evidence is anecdotal rather than scientific: Are Snakes Charmed by Music? Cartoonists often show a monstrous reptile weaving to and fro in front of a snake charmer who is fingering a musical instrument. Zoologists have scoffed. Snakes do not have a highly developed sense of hearing, some said. Others have maintained that snakes are stone deaf. How could serpents be charmed by music, they ask. Support for the effectiveness of snake charming, and the auditory acuteness of serpents in general, appeared last week, in, of all places, the Journal of the American Medical Association. Work With Cobras Dr. David I. Macht, research pharmacologist of the Mount Sinai Hospital in Baltimore, is one of the worlds leading authorities on cobra snake venom. (Cobra venom is an accepted medication, in blood disorders for instance.) Dr. Macht reported that in working with cobras and cobra venom he became acquainted with a number of Hindu physicians, well educated, and from different parts of India. All agreed that cobras respond to some musical tones, from musical pipes or fifes. Some forms of music excite the animals more than other forms, the physicians reported. Indian children, playing in the dark in the countryside, are even warned not to sing lest their sounds attract cobras, he said. Deaf Adders Dr. Macht commented that Shakespeare, who repeatedly referred to serpents as deaf (as in King Henry VI, part 2, act 3, scene 2: What, art thou, like the adder, waxen deaf?) merely repeated a common misunderstanding. On the other hand Dr. Macht said, the psalmist was right who implied conversely, in Psalm 58, Verse 5, that serpents can hear: Their poison is like the poison of serpents; They are like the deaf adder that stoppeth her ear; Which will not hearken to the voice of charmers, Charming never so wisely. Contrary to the claims of some naturalists, Dr. Macht said, snakes are Charmed by sounds, not by movements of the charmer. Revise the textbooks, the physicians recommended. SNAKES HEAR LOW FREQUENCIES By the 1970s some sources acknowledged that snakes are not stone deaf but hear low-frequency sounds. For example: Experiments show that snakes cannot perceive most air-borne sounds although they do respond to a restricted range of low-frequency waves and to vibrations on the surface on which they rest. (Parker 1977) …snakes can hear only a limited range of sounds and cannot hear the music. (The World Book Encyclopedia 1985, Volume 4) The snake sways in alert response to the charmers movement, not to the sound of his pipe – snakes are deaf to high frequencies… (The New Encyclopedia Britannica 1988, Volume 3) Lesson one: snakes are not hypnotised by a charmers flute; in fact they cannot even hear it. The snakes hearing range is all in the low-frequency band, far below the pitch of a flute. (Donald 1992) The Bible implies that the snake hears the voice of the charmer. A singing charmer might be meant rather than an instrument-playing charmer. Either way the frequency range of the notes – whether sung or played – is relevant. FREQUENCIES OF MUSICAL NOTES The Viperidae (vipers) are a family of venomous snakes found all over the world, except in Antarctica, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, Madagascar, Hawaii, various other isolated islands, and north of the Arctic Circle. All have relatively long, hinged fangs that permit deep penetration and injection of venom. Four subfamilies are currently recognised.[2] They are also known as viperids. A rattlesnake skull, showing the long fangs used to inject venom. All viperids have a pair of relatively long solenoglyphous (hollow) fangs that are used to inject venom from glands located towards the rear of the upper jaws. Each of the two fangs is at the front of the mouth on a short maxillary bone that can rotate back and forth. When not in use, the fangs fold back against the roof of the mouth and are enclosed in a membranous sheath. The left and right fangs can be rotated together or independently. During a strike, the mouth can open nearly 180° and the maxilla rotates forward, erecting the fangs as late as possible so as the fangs do not become damaged. The jaws close on impact and powerful muscles that surround the venom glands contract to inject the venom as the fangs penetrate. This action is very fast; in defensive strikes, it will be more a stab than a bite. Viperids use this mechanism primarily for immobilization and digestion of prey. Secondarily, it is used for self-defence, though in cases with nonprey, such as humans, they may give a dry bite (not inject any venom). Almost all vipers have keeled scales, a stocky build with a short tail, and, due to the location of the venom glands, a triangle-shaped head distinct from the neck. The great majority have vertically elliptical, or slit-shaped, pupils that can open wide to cover most of the eye or close almost completely, which helps them to see in a wide range of light levels. Typically, vipers are nocturnal and ambush their prey. Compared to many other snakes, vipers often appear rather sluggish. Most are ovoviviparous, giving birth to live young, but a few lay eggs; the word viper is derived from Latin vivo = I live and pario = I give birth.[3] Geographic range Viperid snakes are found in the Americas, Africa and Eurasia. In the Americas, they are native from southern Canada, through the United States, Mexico, Central America and into South America. The adder branch of the Viperidae family contains the only venomous snake found in the United Kingdom.[1] Wild viperids are not found in Australia. Behavior Experiments have shown these snakes are capable of making decisions on how much venom to inject depending on the circumstances. In all cases, the most important determinant of venom expenditure is generally the size of the snake, with larger specimens being capable of delivering much more venom. The species is also important, since some are likely to inject more venom than others, may have more venom available, strike more accurately, or deliver a number of bites in a short time. In predatory bites, factors that influence the amount of venom injected include the size of the prey, the species of prey, and whether the prey item is held or released. The need to label prey for chemosensory relocation after a bite and release may also play a role. In defensive bites, the amount of venom injected may be determined by the size or species of the predator (or antagonist), as well as the assessed level of threat, although larger assailants and higher threat levels may not necessarily lead to larger amounts of venom being injected. Venom Viperid venoms typically contain an abundance of protein-degrading enzymes, called proteases, that produce symptoms such as pain, strong local swelling and necrosis, blood loss from cardiovascular damage complicated by coagulopathy, and disruption of the blood clotting system. Death is usually caused by collapse in blood pressure. This is in contrast to elapid venoms that generally contain neurotoxins that disable muscle contraction and cause paralysis. Death from elapid bites usually results from asphyxiation because the diaphragm can no longer contract. However, this rule does not always apply: some elapid bites include proteolytic symptoms typical of viperid bites, while some viperid bites produce neurotoxic symptoms.[5] Proteolytic venom is also dual-purpose: firstly, it is used for defense and to immobilize prey, as with neurotoxic venoms; secondly, many of the venoms enzymes have a digestive function, breaking down molecules in prey items, such as lipids, nucleic acids, and proteins.[5] This is an important adaptation, as many vipers have inefficient digestive systems.[6] Due to the nature of proteolytic venom, a viperid bite is often a very painful experience and should always be taken seriously, though it may not necessarily prove fatal. Even with prompt and proper treatment, a bite can still result in a permanent scar, and in the worst cases, the affected limb may even have to be amputated. A victims fate is impossible to predict, as this depends on many factors, including (but not limited to) the species and size of the snake involved, how much venom was injected (if any), and the size and condition of the patient before being bitten. Viper bite victims may also be allergic to the venom and/or the antivenom. Taxonomy[edit] That Viperidae family as attributed to Oppel (1811), as opposed to Laurenti (1768) or Gray (1825), is subject to some interpretation. However, the consensus among leading experts is that Laurenti used viperae as the plural of vipera (Latin for viper, adder, or snake) and did not intend for it to indicate a family group taxon. Rather, it is attributed to Oppel, based on his Viperini as a distinct family group name, despite the fact that Gray was the first to use the form Viperinae.
Posted on: Sat, 09 Aug 2014 20:12:09 +0000
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