Henke 2022dd

Finding a Talking Snake

Kevin R. Henke

September 15, 2022

At the beginning of Section 5.0 in Henke (2022b), I wrote:

“Lundahl (2022c) and Lundahl (2022d), and to a lesser extent Lundahl (2022a) and Lundahl (2022b), respond to my comments on the Talking Snake of Genesis 3 in Henke (2022a). In Henke (2022a), I state:

“So, from what we know about the intelligence and the inability of snakes and other reptiles to speak, if a snake starts having a conversation with me and other witnesses, I would have to change my skeptical views of Genesis 3.”

Rather than actually providing evidence for a talking snake, Lundahl (2022a) injects some appreciated humor:

“Not the point. My advice - if a snake does so, don't answer, but get away. Eve's conversation was not exactly lucky for any of us.”

Lundahl (2022b) then comments more seriously on my desire to have witnesses interview a Talking Snake:

“It is not here claimed that serpents generally speak, or even that there is a specific type of serpent that does so. Also, the test would, if successful, make you reconsider historicity of Genesis 3 only at stating talking snakes are not supernatural.”

In this case, this statement might be true. Scientists might eventually find some natural snakes that can talk and are intelligent. That is, a snake that can have a conversation and not simply mimic voices like a parrot. Scientists would then have to determine how the snake talked. If the snake had no voice box and no speech capabilities in the brain, then we would have to seriously consider the possibility that the snake has some unknown, and possibly, supernatural powers. This would require more testing. Nevertheless, Mr. Lundahl needs to provide some actual evidence that there’s a snake somewhere that is smart and capable enough to carry on a conversation. Just speculating that a talking snake is somehow naturally possible to promote Genesis 3 isn’t good enough. Anyone can imagine any wild idea and then somehow claim that it’s ‘possible.’ [my emphasis]

Lundahl (2022m) then comments on the bolded paragraph from Henke 2022b:

“But I never speculated that talking snakes are naturally possible. I ironised over Henke's demand of showing that natural possibility. It is not setting a high standard for evidence to demand proof to substantiate a total strawman on the claim someone is actually making.” [my emphasis]

Again, evaluating the past does not involve “proof”!! Proof is for mathematics. How often do I have to say this? See Henke (2022a), Henke (2022b), and Henke (2022ad).

Now, I fully recognize that Mr. Lundahl, like most conservative Christians, probably believes that the Talking Snake was satan in disguise and not a real animal. However, this is apparently not how the ancient Jews interpreted Genesis 3. Genesis 3 says nothing about satan or demons. That idea apparently came much later (e.g., Revelation 12:9 and 20:2). As I pointed out in Henke (2022b), Josephus around 94 AD thought that the Talking Snake was only an animal:

“Interestingly, Josephus tells us that all of the animals in the Garden of Eden spoke (Jewish Antiquities book 1:4; https://penelope.uchicago.edu/josephus/ant-1.html ). We don’t know if this was nothing more than speculation on Josephus’ part or if he had access to numerous now lost Jewish stories about talking animals in the Garden of Eden and not just Genesis 3.”

My point is that if an intelligent Talking Snake is ever found in Brazil, Africa or some other previously unexplored region, at least the Josephus or Jewish interpretation of Genesis 3 becomes more realistic. There’s no evidence for demons, but humans are talking animals and snakes do exist. Hypothetically, then it’s more probable that a natural Talking Snake could exist than a supernatural demon. Unless the existence of demons is demonstrated, the natural explanation is really the only clear path that would help Mr. Lundahl argue that a Talking Snake might actually have existed. If an intelligent Talking Snake is found, then Mr. Lundahl, other conservative Christians and Orthodox Jews can debate the implications for Genesis 3. Until then, it’s far more probably that the Talk Snake story is nothing more than a myth as indicated by Hypotheses #3 or #4 in Henke (2022b). Also see Henke (2022dz) and Henke (2022bp).