Serpent seed

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A sculpture of Adam, Eve, and the Serpent at the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. In the sculpture the serpent is depicted as a half human.

Serpent seed is a term for a controversial doctrinal teaching that the Serpent in the Garden of Eden had sexual intercourse with Eve, and that Cain was the offspring of the union. Major proponents include Daniel Parker (1781-1844),^[1] William M. Branham (1909-1967)^[2] and Arnold Murray.^[3]. In Judaism the doctrine is derived from the Kabbalistic Zohar, published in the 13th Century AD, which states that "The Beasts of the Field are the offspring of the original Serpent who had sexual intercourse with Eve" (Zohar I, 28b).

Serpent Seed is widely held to be a false doctrine by mainstream Christian denominations.^[4]^[5] The majority of theologians agree and point to the fact that the Bible states that the original sin is that of Adam and Eve eating the forbidden physical fruit.^[6]

1 In Judaism
2 In Christianity
3 The Doctrine
4 William Branham's teachings
5 Is Serpent Seed a Heresy?
6 Serpent seed belief in fiction
7 References
8 See also
9 External links

[edit] In Judaism

Serpent Seed, as it is now called among Christians, has been taught for several thousand years among sects of Judaism.^[7] In modern times it is a highly controversial doctrine followed mainly by Kabbalists.

Rabbi David Max Eichhorn, in his book Cain: Son of the Serpent, traces the idea back through early Jewish Midrashic texts and identifies hundreds of Rabbis who taught that Cain was the son of the union between the serpent and Eve. ^[8]

Kabbalist Rabbis also commonly believe that both Cain and Abel are both of a different genetic background than Seth. This known among Kabbalists as "The Theory of Origins".^[9] The theory teaches that God created two "Adams"(Adamah means MAN in Hebrew). To one he gave a soul and to the other he did not give a soul. The one without a soul is the creature known in Christianity as the serpent. The Kabbalists call the serpent Nachash (nachash means serpent in Hebrew). This is recorded in the Zohar:

"Two beings [Adam and Nachash] had intercourse with Eve, and she conceived from both and bore two children. Each followed one of the male parents, and their spirits parted, one to this side and one to the other, and similarly their characters. On the side of Cain are all the haunts of the evil species; from the side of Abel comes a more merciful class, yet not wholly beneficial -- good wine mixed with bad."(Zohar 136)

This passage is the basis for all Kabbalist belief in a serpent seed type doctrine. Kabbalists believe that Eve was a female serpent and also without a soul, so that Abel was half pure and Cain was entirely impure. This varies with the Christian version in which Eve does have a soul and is not a serpent.

[edit] In Christianity

In The Scofield Study Bible Scofield says, "The serpent, in his Edenic form, is not to be thought of as a writhing reptile. That is the effect of the curse (Gen. 3:14). The creature which lent itself to Satan may well have been the most beautiful as it was the most "subtle" of creatures less than man".^[10] Scofield's notes are silent as to the idea of Cain being the serpent's seed, however in Genesis 6:2 his notes claimed that while it was an "error" to believe that the offspring mentioned were the product of supernatural unions, it was instead the intermarriage of the "godly line of Seth" with the "godless line of Cain" being referred to.^[11] Advocates suggest that modern Christian translations of the Old Testament reduce emphasis on this concept which they believe indicated the serpent had been an upright human-like creature.

The foundational scripture for the serpent's seed doctrine appears in Genesis 3:15, which in the King James Version states "And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel." Advocates interpret this literally to mean that an offspring of the Serpent via Eve would eventually lose in a mortal conflict with one of "her seed". Eve's son by Adam would have presumably been called "Adam's seed" so it has been suggested, since a woman does not naturally produce seed, that "her seed" is the first prophesy of an eventual human messiah produced by means of a virgin birth. Adherents believe this sets up the serpent's seed as a antitype to Jesus Christ.

Advocates also point out that in Genesis 4:1-2 it is mentioned only once that Adam "knew" his wife, yet twice it is mentioned that she "bare" sons (see, heteropaternal superfecundation). Also an unmentioned act of infidelity is implied by reproductive and marital curses placed on Eve in Genesis 1:16, that otherwise seem inappropriate to merely eating a forbidden fruit. St. Paul seems to suggest as much in 2 Corinthians 11:2-3 where he may have implied that Eve was not a chaste virgin at the time Adam first had relations with her: "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. But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted..."

In the New Testament epistle of 1 John, ch. 3 v. xii it also states, "Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother." John also recorded in his gospel (8:44) that Christ said, "Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him." These passages, if taken literally as by advocates, seem to suggest that the New Testament writers believed that Cain, the first murderer, was indeed the serpent's seed.

This doctrine has been taught in various forms for thousands of years, with the exception of the mainstream Christian denominations. Variations of this belief are central to the beliefs of Two-Seed-in-the-Spirit Predestinarian Baptists founded by Daniel Parker. Other variations of this belief occur in the Christian Identity movement. Some of these groups appear to use the doctrine as a rationalization for racist beliefs. One of the largest, but non-denominational, groups that believe in a form of the serpent seed doctrine are the followers of Branhamism who are documented to number over 300,000.

[edit] The Doctrine

The doctrine of the Serpent's Seed is followed by several minor Christian groups, the followers of Branhamism, Two-Seed-in-the-Spirit Predestinarian Baptists, and the Christian Identity Movement among others. There are variations and differences between these groups but the basic belief is that the Original Sin was an act of sexual intercourse between Adam and Eve and, prior to that act, Eve was sexually seduced by the serpent and committed sexual intercourse with the serpent. Further, that Cain was conceived by the act with the serpent and Able by the act with Adam.

The main variations are on the after effects of the act. Some proponents believe that the serpent was Satan himself.^[12] Others believe that the serpent was an animal being influenced by Satan.^[13] Another key difference is in the descendants of Cain. Some believe that the two lines remained separate and eventually Cain's descendants where all destroyed,^[14] others believe that Cain's descendants became completely mixed with the descendants of Adam (meaning everyone has a piece of the genetics of the serpent),^[15] and still others believe that the two lines remain separate to this day.^[16] Finally others disagree whether sex itself was the original sin^[17] or if the original sin was sex for pleasure rather than sex for reproduction.^[18]

The following points and scriptures are largely agreed upon by all proponents to be the basis of the Serpent Seed Doctrine although variations do occur as mentioned above.

The Two Trees. The starting point of the discussion is usually on the two trees, the Tree of Life and the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. Gen 2:10Proponents note the difference between the "trees that grow out the ground" as opposed to "the trees in the midst of the garden". This is used to indicate the two trees are not physical trees but principles (e.g. ideas, rules).^[19]^[20] They also point to Rev 2:7 and Rev 22:2 where the Tree of Life is now in heaven to show that two trees are not the same kind of trees that grow on Earth but instead are something spiritual. Furthermore they point out that since man was given the tree of knowledge by their choice it should still be visible somewhere in the world today, which they claim is the overt sexuality of society.
The Serpent. Gen 3 The serpent in it original form was not a snake but a creature capable or speech, it's curse is what turned it into a snake. The only creature capable of intelligent speech is a human form, this is used by some proponents to support their claim that the serpent was an upright human-like creature.^[21] Some proponents claim the serpent was intended to be used for manual labor and therefore was made to look like a man but was not given a soul.^[22] The chapter states that the serpent "beguiled" Eve. In Early Modern English this word literally meant to sexually seduce.^[23]
Sex. In the bible sex was not called sex in any of Moses's writings. It was always referred to in a cryptic way such a "knowing". This is used as evidence that the trees and the fruit where just another cryptic way to describe sex.
The Punishment. Gen 3 Proponents also point to the punishment to show that the act was sexual. When Adam and Eve sinned they covered their genitals, not their mouths, indicating they sinned not with their mouths but with their genitals. The punishment God put on them affected sexual reproduction, he cause the woman to have more frequent menstrual cycles, to have increased pain in child birth, and to cause enmity between the descendants of Adam and the descendants of the serpent. (Cain killed Abel)^[24]
The Birth. 4. When the birth of Cain occurred Eve said "I am given a MAN from the Lord", throughout the rest of the pre-flood chapters Adam's descendants are call "The Sons of God", not "MEN". The descendants of Cain are, however, referred to as "MEN". Nothing is mentioned about Abel's birth. Proponents claim this is meant to show a difference between the two offspring. Eve was also called "The Mother of all Living" but Adam was never called the Father of all living.
The Offspring. Gen 4. Cain and Abel were of different occupational backgrounds. Abel tended the flocks and Cain tilled the ground. Proponents claim these traits were inherited from their fathers; Adam was to rule over the animals and the serpent was intended to tend the Garden of Eden. Another difference between them was that Abel, being of pure birth, knew how to give a proper sacrifice to God. Cain, not being pure, did not know how to give a proper sacrifice, he only knew he needed to give one, indicating he was only inherited a portion of the knowledge that Abel had inherited. His impurity was also displayed by his jealousy and murder of Abel, some proponents argue that these are not traits God would have created in Adam and Eve and could not have been inherited from them.
The Two Lines of Descent. Gen 5, Gen 4.Some proponents show that because the two lines of descent are recorded separately it indicates they were somehow different. It notes how the developments in Cain's sides were all negative (e.g. murder, theft, adultery, etc) But in Adam's line nothing is mentioned of anything evil. The two lines are also mentioned differently, Adams line being called "The Sons of God" and Cain's line being called "Men". The descendants of Adam alway had "Sons and daughters" while Cains descendants sometimes had all daughters or all sons, this also indicates a genetic difference. (This is also used to indicate that Noah was not of pure birth) Then ultimately the two lines intermarry, "the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them", and God then destroyed the world with a flood.^[25]
Christ. Ultimately this leads to Jesus who was born of a virgin birth. Proponents point to the fact that all humanity was impure and therefore incapable of "breeding" a "pure" Son of God as the reason Christ had to be born of a virgin birth. Many proponents claim that Christ was born in the same state that Adam was created, perfect and without sin. They claim he had to be created by God in order for him to be pure and to be the "perfect sacrifice".^[26]^[27]^[28]

[edit] William Branham's teachings

William Branham was not the first to preach the doctrine of serpent seed, but he was one of the major proponents of the doctrine in modern times. Branham was the most widely known minister of the 20th century to actually teach serpent seed and much of it's spread can be attributed to him. William Branham taught that the fall of mankind resulted from Eve having sexual intercourse with an upright Beast whom Adam had named 'Serpent'.^[29]

Because of his wide acclaim in the late 1940s and throughout the 1950s, Branham was widely followed in Charismatic and Pentecostal movements and to a lesser degree by the Methodist and Baptists. His meetings, held all over the world, were attended by hundreds of thousands which gave him a very large audience. This popularity and influence gave him the best platform of all adherents of the serpent seed doctrine to spread it to the masses. Although he did not regularly espouse the doctrine in front of his largest audiences his belief in the doctrine was not kept secret and did preach several sermons on it to smaller meetings.

Branham was well aware of the potential connections of the doctrine to racism but tried to show that his belief was not racially targeted. ("He Cares, Do You Care?", 21 July 1963). He tried to show that although he believed the doctrine he did not think it was a basis for racism.

[edit] Is Serpent Seed a Heresy?

Most Christians and Jews do not believe the serpent seed doctrine based on Genesis 4:1 which states "And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bore Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD,".

The Roman Catholic Church^[30] and the Eastern Orthodox Church, the oldest communions, have never officially recognized the doctrine of serpent seed. Throughout history only fringe elements of Christianity have believed the doctrine of Serpent Seed. The creeds of Catholic Church make it very clear the original sin was the eating oh a physical fruit, usually depicted as an apple. Teaching of serpent seed has been explicitly banned in both the Methodist and Baptist Christian Denominations.

Critics also point to Genesis 4:1 as denying that Cain was of the serpent because Eve states that Cain was "from the Lord".

[edit] Serpent seed belief in fiction

The belief has turned up in some works of fiction, such as The Illuminatus! Trilogy. In it, a character mentions in a memo pertaining to unusual conspiracy theories: The detective who discovers the memo doesn't believe that conspiracy, but instead believes there is a conspiracy of "[f]eeding him balderdash like that stuff about the Illuminati coming from the planet Vulcan or being descended from Eve and the Serpent."