Snakes and People Are One: Why Be Afraid?

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Snakes and People are One: Why be Afraid? Snakes and People are One: Why be Afraid? In the Bible, it is written 'Now these are to you the unclean among the swarming things which swarm on the earth: the mole, and the mouse, and the great lizard in its kinds.” Furthermore it is said that 'These [including the snake] are to you the unclean among all the swarming things; whoever touches them when they [the ‘swarming things’] are dead becomes unclean until evening (Leviticus 11:29 and 31). Thus many, across cultures and different religions, have equated the snake as well, with sin, pestilence and devils and demons. No wonder many of us fear the snake. Indeed the snake is fearsome for its lethal capacity given its venom and all. But how fair is it to say ‘Just be gone with this creature’? How many of us have taken this beautiful creature for granted? Or better yet, see how many of us will respond to the presence of a snake the way the young man in the following story reacted: Quite some years ago I was visiting friends in a lovely seaside spot (well very near the sea) called Pottsville in New South Wales. An appropriate name it seemed at the time. My friends had an English friend staying with them also. His name was Nigel. My friends' house was a rather dilapidated old weatherboard house with natural air-conditioning, i.e., lots of holes. Nigel decided to have a bath in the rather primitive and "holey" bathroom. We could hear him singing happily away. Next minute there was a shriek ARRRRGGGGHHHHHHH!!!! We heard the bathroom door slam and saw Nigel making for the woodheap, nude. He went behind the woodheap and next thing we heard was thump, thump, thump coming from the bathroom along with cries of "I got you, you b...... I got you..." We all thought it might be a good idea to go and see what was bothering Nigel. Imagine our

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