Maybe the snake’s venom was depleted for any number of reasons.
And it may take days, even weeks, to replenish stores of depleted venom.
At the risk of repeating somebody above, since I haven’t read everything in this thread…
Of all the things to find incredible in the Bible (at least according to shallow fundamentalistic approaches)… from sun standing still in the sky, to millions of people surviving together in the desert after their sudden Egyptian exodus, to resurrected crowds of saints … it just strikes me as interesting in the extreme that in such a target-rich environment as that, you suddenly find it inconcievable that some snake might come out of a bunch of brush and bite somebody who then … failed to die. What did I miss here?
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@Mervin
In answer to your q., “a lot”.
Or all of it.
You might review my list of reasons the story is bogus,
which “come out of bushes” and " fail to die" are not among them.
Too, i was referring not to the fabulous tales of the OT
but to the specific claims of an individual which, IMO,
cast significant doubt on all his claims.
The miracle part of an otherwise rather ordinary sounding snake story
I didnt even mention.
@Dale
Again, i did not comment on the consequences / miracle of
the purported bite, but on the claimed circumstances.
A “viper” no more native than a cobra in a new york parking lot,
no venemous snakes at all on the island.
Picking one up w/o noticing its a snake.
The snake acting wholly contrary to the nature of a viper,
and “clinging”, having to be shaken off.
On depletion i observed a Chinese viper fed several mice.
It bit each, which gave one or two hops before collapsing.
Mr. Viper had plenty of venom for the last mouse.
The strike is so fast you cannot even see the snake open its mouth.
Almost two millennia ago… you’re sure there were none there? And the snake could have had a problem. I also know God’s providence.
@Dale
I am speaking of how every detail is deeply improbable,
and in total they add up to a bogus account.
This is a science and theology forum?
The SCIENCE of it says, no way it could have happened as it is told.
Any more than the math allows for the “sea” in kings to have been 30 cubits x 10 cubits; so one sometimes needs to go extra biblical to
check what the bible is really saying.
If the choice is to say all of it is a miracle, just say so and
then theres nothing to discuss.
God’s providential interventions do not need to break any natural laws, but they can be startling in their timing and placing, so you might say miraculous. And the case in question is in the New Testament.
Its not about “nature’s laws” whatever those might be.
Here we’ve a guy who draws to an inside straight flush and
then wins three lotteries in a row. With supernatural help.
Call it what you like.
(You’re not familiar with the expression?)
Okay. So you’re stuck on the nonsense and poverty of the modern fundamentalist approach to understanding most everything - and discovered its insufficiency to provide any lasting basis for anything at all - much less faith. You seem eager to establish your ‘street-cred’ as a nonbeliever. Many here have been there - done that, got the T-shirt. Did you have any point beyond that? Or if you’re ever ready to try something else, life could suddenly get interesting!
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Snakes do dry bite.
I don’t have much of a opinion on this particular story. I accept it though. But I also stated I think it will be fun to look into it more.
I don’t know if there is any validity to this but it’s something to consider also. Or at least worth looking into.
http://www.ionion.com/english/kefalonia/culture/monasteries/enstpaul.htm
There is also this.
This person is arguing that Malta was not the island and thst it did not become the island until in the 1500s and may have had to do with the fact the Knights took over the island.
They claim the island was actually Mljet known as Mileta. They also show both islands on a map and talk about weather patterns and how Mijet is the island that makes most sense geographically and so on.
This island also has snakes, including a viper.
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Wrong island, wrong behavuiour or wrong kind of snake.
I always pictured it in my mind as hanging from its fangs, ‘clinging’ (‘fastened’ in some translations), momentarily as Paul pulled back… But I’m not going to second-guess God’s providence.
The story has him having to shake it off.
A viper bite is so fast you just see a flicker.
Providence would have God direct the snake to behave
so strangely just so people would see it bite?
I am trying to apply science here.
If God directed a snake to appear where they dont live, and for Paul to
not even notice its not a stick, the snake to wait till everybody is watching to " cling", then that is pure religious faith, no science need apply.
No, i saw it. Did you miss most of what I said?
The way it ends up as a story that is its true though every relevant detail of the story is incorrect?
Did Paul tell or endorse the story?
Regarding the topic of Paul’s snake experience, I don’t have any more to say. Others here know more about snakes than I do, and it looks like you’ve got your hands full trying to convince them that it’s all as impossible as you seem to think.
My apologies on my quick assumptions about you - they were indeed exactly that. I’ll refrain and happily accept any correction.
Regarding my tone - There too, I need to set a higher example; so I do hear and note your criticism. I’ll stay accountable too. This forum, like much any other, has plenty of give-and-take which can happen well within our norms of gracious dialogue. Pushback happens. You’ll get used to it.
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