Christian answering questions too!

[GUBU]

Incoming reply:

"The serpent didn't look like a snake until after god cursed it."

Generally, the "serpent" is taken by most Christians as a slur against Satan, in describing him by his nature instead of his physical appearance, not as a literal snake. Of course, the snake is a common theme in pre-Judaic religions of the region, so it's hardly surprising to us to find it in the Genesis tale, since so much else in Genesis appears to have been borrowed from the Sumerian myths.

What I don't get about christian conceptions of satan is that they are all essentially extra-biblical. The idea of satan as yhwh's antagonist is not the picture developed in the bible, where satan is god's ultra-loyal henchman who gets all the dirty jobs. Essentially, the idea of the devil being satan is an idea developed in medieval times.