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The Serpent's Seed: Difference between revisions
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The serpent's seed doctrine is based on a few scriptures that can be used in isolation to support a position that is not supportable when viewed in the context of ALL scripture.<br> | The serpent's seed doctrine is based on a few scriptures that can be used in isolation to support a position that is not supportable when viewed in the context of ALL scripture.<br> | ||
<br> | <br> | ||
= | =Does the New Testament Teach the Serpent's Seed doctrine?= | ||
==The | ==2 Corinthians 11:2-3== | ||
The KJV states: | |||
:''For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. 3 But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.<ref>The Holy Bible: King James Version, Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version. (Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 2009), 2 Co 11:2–3.</ref> | |||
From the wording, message followers argue that this demonstrates that while Christians need to avoid having their minds corrupted, Eve experienced a physical corruption. But is that what the passage actually states in the original Greek. It is important to note that the New Testament was written in Koine Greek and that the KJV is a translation into 400 year old English. | |||
Let us look at a couple of other translations: | |||
:NASB - ''For I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy; for I betrothed you to one husband, so that to Christ I might present you as a pure virgin. 3 But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ.<ref>New American Standard Bible, 1995 Edition: Paragraph Version (La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995), 2 Co 11:2–3.</ref> | |||
:NIV -''I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. I promised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to him. 3 But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ.<ref>The New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), 2 Co 11:2–3.</ref> | |||
:CEB - ''I’m deeply concerned about you with the same concern that God has. As your father, I promised you in marriage to one husband. I promised to present you as an innocent virgin to Christ himself. 3 But I’m afraid that your minds might be seduced in the same way as the snake deceived Eve with his devious tricks. You might be unable to focus completely on a genuine and innocent commitment to Christ.<ref>Common English Bible (Nashville, TN: Common English Bible, 2011), 2 Co 11:2–3.</ref> | |||
The sole characteristic of the serpent mentioned by Paul is "cunning". It was by his words that the serpent deceived her in the Genesis account, a point Paul implies in that it is by what the interlopers preach that the Corinthians are led astray. This viewpoint is supported in a closely parallel passage where Paul writes of “those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned … By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of naive people … The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet” (Rom 16:17–18, 20). The references in 2 Cor 11:3 and Rom 16:18, 20 to | |||
:(1) “the serpent” (i.e., Satan—v. 14), | |||
:(2) “crush Satan,” and | |||
:(3) “deceive” tie both passages back to Genesis 2–3 and to each other. | |||
Paul sees words—erroneous in content but smooth of delivery—as Satan’s instrument to seduce the church from her loyalty to Christ.<ref>Paul Barnett, The Second Epistle to the Corinthians, The New International Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1997), 501–502. </ref> | |||
==Acts 17:26== | |||
The KJV states that God ''"hath made of '''one blood''' all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth."''<ref>The Holy Bible: King James Version, Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version. (Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 2009), Acts 17:26</ref> | The KJV states that God ''"hath made of '''one blood''' all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth."''<ref>The Holy Bible: King James Version, Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version. (Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 2009), Acts 17:26</ref> | ||