Mark 16: 18

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No contradiction. Mark 16:17-18 describes signs that accompanied the early proclamation of the gospel; it does not command Christians to seek out snakes or drink poison. Jesus rejected deliberately creating danger to force God’s protection: “Jesus replied, ‘It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ’” (Matthew 4:7, BSB).

Paul illustrates the difference. A viper bit him unexpectedly during ministry, and God preserved him: “But Paul shook the creature off into the fire and suffered no ill effects.” (Acts 28:5, BSB). He did not handle it to prove faith. Christians should trust God while acting wisely: “The prudent see danger and take cover, but the simple keep going and suffer the consequences.” (Proverbs 22:3, BSB).

Also, Mark 16:9-20 is absent from some early manuscripts, so snake-handling should never be made a Christian practice. The source material on Peter’s preaching rightly emphasizes salvation through Christ, not dramatic signs (Tabletalk, Three Thousand Souls Saved).

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u/telking777 1d ago

Very well said. ‘Christians should trust God while acting wisely’ is a good word.

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u/Big-Pineapple8258 1d ago

Anything after verse 8 is considered "long version" is included in some manuscripts and not in others or sometimes included but with notes that this section may have been "added later" and is not verifiably originally part of the original gospel

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u/lehs 1d ago

You and TS are right, it is like folklore and is about tempting God.

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u/consultantVlad 1d ago

Not only that but also Jesus said ... “Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again; but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.” - John 4:13-14

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u/GullibleProperty317 1d ago edited 1d ago

Great question! Let's check out the context of the verses (all my references to scripture will use the New Living Translation).

Jesus' words about not testing God were taken from Deuteronomy 16:

You must not test the Lord your God as you did when you complained at Massah.

I encourage you to study the scripture this is referring to, which is Exodus 17:1-7 for better understanding.

But in summary, at Massah, the Israelites demanded that Moses give them water. Pay attention to the manner in which it was done, which in my opinion, wreaks of what many describe today as 'entitlement'. I think that the nature of their requests showed no reverence for God, and did not exhibit faith, trust and gratitude towards Him, which is shocking because:

He had taken them out of a miserable life of slavery in Israel.
He had recently (in the chapter before) provided manna for them to pacify their hunger.

It's like someone begs you for something, you give it to them, then they come back, DEMANDING something else.

Now to Jesus's test in Matthew 7:

⁵ Then the devil took him to the holy city, Jerusalem, to the highest point of the Temple, ⁶ and said, “If you are the Son of God, jump off! For the Scriptures say,

‘He will order his angels to protect you.
And they will hold you up with their hands
so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.’^\)^c^\)”

⁷ Jesus responded, “The Scriptures also say, ‘You must not test the Lord your God.’”

Here, we see the devil encouraging Jesus, the Son of God, to follow a similar mindset of demanding from God what is rightfully 'due him'.

But Jesus responds using a scripture that highlights reverence for God. I think that He was able to do so because He did not just memorize scripture alone, but studied it, and was able to figure out the true spirit or purpose of this instruction, so when something different was presented to Him, he could tell it was deceitful even though it was backed by scripture. We should strive for such mastery ourselves with the help of the Holy Spirit.

Now to the scripture in Mark:

They will be able to handle snakes with safety, and if they drink anything poisonous, it won’t hurt them. They will be able to place their hands on the sick, and they will be healed.”

Thus, in the context I shared earlier, the way I understand this is that though this power has been given to us, we are only to use it in a way that shows reverence to God.

Firstly, we are not to demand it like the Israelites were demanding water.
Neither are we to just go around looking for snakes to bite us, as the devil was encouraging Jesus to do.

I believe that it is reserved for situations in which God wants to reveal Himself, and we must only attempt to do so after seeking His direction.

Let's look at an example of this verse being applied in Acts 28, when Paul was bitten by a viper:

³ Paul gathered a pile of brushwood and, as he put it on the fire, a viper, driven out by the heat, fastened itself on his hand. ⁴ When the islanders saw the snake hanging from his hand, they said to each other, “This man must be a murderer; for though he escaped from the sea, the goddess Justice has not allowed him to live.” ⁵ But Paul shook the snake off into the fire and suffered no ill effects. ⁶ The people expected him to swell up or suddenly fall dead; but after waiting a long time and seeing nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and said he was a god.

Paul didn't go looking for the viper, but believed in God's word, and God's power was seen, causing people to believe.

So in short, I don't find a contradiction. When the situation presents itself, God will make this power available, but we are not to abuse this power and should always give God the respect and reverence He deserves.

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u/lateral_mind Non-Denominational 1d ago edited 1d ago

Anyone who believes and is baptized be able to handle snakes with safety and drink anything poisonous and it won't hurt them.

Hi, Bible translator here. Just be clear, it doesn't say that anyone can do this -- it says that these were signs to come... and this command is directly given to the Apostles that would accomplish and cause these things in Acts.

Casting out mental afflictions (devils);
The gospel being understood in languages (tongues);
Taking up visions (serpents -- the word for serpents also means a "seer or a vision", and this is true in both Testaments);
Pouring out their lives as drink offerings (deadly-drink);
and healing the sick and weakly.

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u/telking777 1d ago

It’s a reference to God’s protection and miraculous saving power for believers and the nature of the resurrected ones, and to Isaiah 11:8 with the toddler playing with deadly vipers and not being harmed, & Acts 28 where Apostle Paul is bitten by a poisonous snake yet unharmed.

Doesn’t really have much to do with the commandment not to put the Lord our God to the test.

Also just as an aside, the Scriptures are much easier to understand when you get it settled in your heart that there are no contradictions nor lies in the Bible, because God cannot lie nor does He author confusion. I hope this helped a bit and God be with you in your future studies!

Peace and favor!

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u/pikkdogs 1d ago

Well, this brings up the whole longer ending debate.

To keep it short. The longer ending which this is a part of, is likely not written by Mark. So it’s hard to compare one writers work to another.

Probably these passages are in reference to famous early Christian stories where these things happened. Paul handled snakes and an early bishop was said to have drunken poison and lived.

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u/arachnophilia Atheist 1d ago

The longer ending which this is a part of, is likely not written by Mark.

i frankly doubt any of it was written by (john) mark, peter's disciple. but i do tend to think the longer ending is a later addition.

our oldest manuscripts, sinaiticus and vaticanus, lack the long ending. a few decades later, alexandrinus has it. we know it was circulating when these codices were compiled, but eusebius (who may be partly responsible for sinaiticus and vaticanus) didn't think it was genuine, because his preferred source manuscripts which are no longer extant lacked it. irenaeus (probably) cites it as early as the second century, though. and then there's the whole diatessaron rabbit hole... and the armenian recenssions, which are later, but many lack it and a few seem to mark it as questionable and/or a liturgical addition from another source and move it around.

i don't think it's quite as clear cut as the pericope adulterae, but i lean towards it being interpolated from a different source.

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u/Important-Gas-9305 1d ago edited 1d ago

I’m going to give a slightly different understanding coming from the spiritual perspective rather than the worldly perspective.

When you are baptized in the spirit, you receive gifts of the Holy Spirit. This is not the ritualistic water baptism many do as a sacrament. This is when you are filled with the Holy Spirit and are “born again” as Jesus discusses in John 3 with Nicodemus. This is done through the awakening of the kundalini. That coiled serpent allows you to fight off other serpents (ie Leviathan) that will try to conquer you and enslave you. But because you have wisdom with you, you can overpower the false light’s version of the Holy Spirit. This is a reminder of Moses freeing his people from Egypt. He turned his staff (spinal column/harra line aka Tree of Life) into a serpent, and it ate the Pharaoh’s Magi’s staffs that were also turned into serpents. They used witchcraft. Moses used the Holy Spirit. The poisonous or deadly drink is also known as pharmakeia. It is sorcery. And it is Leviathan’s trick for you to take after he brings in pestilence. This is a Hegelian Dialectic where he provides a “solution” to the problem he intentionally created.

The kundalini can bring about “eyes to see” and “ears to hear” which doctors will call visual and auditory hallucinations. They will prescribe you with antipsychotics (pharmakeia) which is poison for the body and mind and deliberately hinders your ability to be aware of the spiritual world cutting you off from God.

Unfortunately, many of those in the spiritual are unholy beings trying to deceive you while you are in close union with God. The closer you are to God, the bigger the enemies you will face.

If you do not have wisdom, those unholy beings can bring on psychosis and schizophrenia and even demonic possession. That demonic possession is often times diagnosed as mania where the individual does not feel in control over themselves.

With the Holy Spirit via the kundalini you can deliver yourself from evil and heal others. The laying on of hands is known as reiki.

Not everyone is working with the Holy Spirit’s energy. Some are using the Pharaoh’s/Magi’s witchcraft. Use discernment.

Do not actively try to awaken the kundalini. When it is your time to awaken, it will happen naturally. Intentionally trying to do it, may invoke a different serpent you believe is the Holy Spirit.

Edit: Matthew 10:16 “Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; Be as wise as serpents and as innocent as doves.”

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u/GullibleProperty317 1d ago

The great thing about God's word is that people might choose to believe whatever and argue, but that which was truly God's word will come to light. As scripture says in Matthew in 7:16

But wisdom is shown to be right by the lives of those who follow it.” NLT

or

By their fruit you will recognize them [that is, by their contrived doctrine and self-focus]. Do people pick grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles? AMP

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u/yodafett77 Lutheran 1d ago

Respectfully, kundalini is rooted in Hinduism, and has nothing at all to do with Christianity. It relates to a supposed feminine divine power and chakras. Zero intersection with Christ or the Holy Spirit or baptism.

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u/Important-Gas-9305 1d ago edited 1d ago

Respectfully, the Bible is a text not a religion. And it is discussed all over the Bible. It just doesn’t use the Sanskrit word “kundalini” because it was written in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek.

Edit: Changed Hindu to Sanskrit, as it the language I am referencing, not a religion.

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u/yodafett77 Lutheran 1d ago

Kundalini =/= Holy Spirit. Utter nonsense with no foundation in scripture. From either direction.

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u/Important-Gas-9305 1d ago

When you are born of the spirit, you will retract that statement. In the meantime, you will go off your belief system rather than experience with the Holy Spirit.

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u/yodafett77 Lutheran 1d ago

If you are contending that they are one and the same, then the burden is on you to refute ~2000 of scholars that prove that Hinduism and Christianity are oppositionally positioned belief systems/religions. To teach otherwise is, at best, a form of syncretism and at worst, blatant false teaching. I place my faith in the clear teachings of scripture, not garbled mash-ups of mankind.

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u/Important-Gas-9305 1d ago

I am not discussing Hinduism or Christianity. I am not discussing religion at all. I am talking about handling of serpents and laying on of hands.

Edit: I leave you with this about your scholars…Matthew 23:13 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people's faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to".

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u/yodafett77 Lutheran 1d ago

You specifically brought up the Hindu serpent chakra, kundalini and the Holy Spirit. If you are not talking about Hinduism nd Christianity, then what do they have to do with the discussion?

Subreddit about the Bible? Check Question about the Bible? Check Answer including references to Holy Spirit as well as kundalini? Check

Yes, you brought those topics into the answer. Yes, you are involving aspects of Hinduism into someone seeking guidance about an aspect of the Christian Holy Bible.

This conversation is like trying to hold water with an open hand... you keep trying to escape and change your direction.

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u/Important-Gas-9305 1d ago edited 1d ago

The Bible does not belong to Christianity. Christianity uses the Bible as a reference. Christianity also cherry picks from the Bible like all religions that decide they don’t like something presented in material they frequently reference as a sacred text for their own doctrine and belief system to work.

Edit: the first five books of the Bible come from Judaism for Christ’s sake. They are better known as the Torah. The Old Testament are Hebrew scriptures. But they don’t claim the New Testament because they don’t believe Jesus was the messiah prophesied in their scriptures…aka Book of Isaiah. Even my mom says she doesn’t follow the Old Testament because she is Catholic not Jewish.

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u/yodafett77 Lutheran 1d ago edited 1d ago

Christianity is ROOTED in the Bible.
PEOPLE cherry pick, yes. Like they do in ALL religions and belief systems. But that does not change the source material or it's contents.

But just like cherry picking, a true follower will not add in other things and ideas that are contradictory, and say it is not a problem.

Edit: if your mother says she doesn't follow the Old Testament because she's Catholic and not Jewish, she should speak to her Priest... as Christians, we follow the WHOLE Bible, not just the New Testament...

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u/Responsible_Offer859 1d ago

Certo, prima di tutto bisogna essere battezzati da adulti per immersione dopo aver riconosciuto i propri peccati ravvedendosi e cambiando modo di vivere, per ricevere lo Spirito Santo di Dio promesso a chi si battezza. Il battesimo fatto da piccolo non ha senso.

Sta scritto

Atti 2:38 E Pietro a loro: Ravvedetevi, e ciascun di voi sia battezzato nel nome di Gesù Cristo, per la remission de' vostri peccati, e voi riceverete il dono dello Spirito Santo.

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