Punishment as a prerequisite for worship

February 20th, 2024

Punishment and worship seem to be intertwined — at least in Christianity. It seems that punishment is required as a part of the larger religious experience and is a fundamental part of what god needs to be fulfilled in its role as a god. The story of expulsion from earthly paradise and god’s curses against people pronounced along with the expulsion are clear examples. And those curses were not only directed against people but, significantly, as well, against the snake in its role as an initially worshiped entity. The curse against the serpent is a curse against indigenous worship of the snake as a deity that is accounted for in various religions besides Christianity (especially in Meso-America). The serpent is cast out, and condemned to crawl, which brings another question — are we to understand that before the incident in the Garden of Eden, snakes did not crawl? Or was the snake just a symbolic depiction of some other primeval object of worship? It seems strange that this detail is included in Genesis. Also, enmity is established between the serpent and Eve (and, by extension, with all women). It looks like the serpent was an object of worship for women and the curse placed by God meant that women were no longer allowed to worship what was holy to them and to obey the bringer of knowledge, but also had to struggle against the past comforts of the snake goddess. Snakes were related to slimy and gross creatures full of danger and deceit. And women were punished for thirsting for knowledge, and, along with men, were forced to worship the cruel upstart of the Old Testament.