The Talking Snake & the Warrior God: A Wild Goose Encounter

By Stephen Elmes

'That's a lot of trust in book with talking snake,' says Alex, baiting his coffee companion and conversation partner. Steve takes the bait and the conversation ensues, traversing the great biblical drama and wrestling with idea and images of God. Alex is inclined to pursue tough questions about this God who sanctions mass destruction and seems to u

• Language: English
• Publisher: Creative Tension Publications
• Release date: Oct 5, 2021
• ISBN: 9781916066977

Stephen Elmes

Stephen Elmes lives in the town of Bookham, Surrey (UK) with his wife. He is the Lead Minister of Bookham Baptist Church, a church with big heart and a vision to grow fruitful followers of Jesus. Steve's gifts are in teaching, storytelling, and in helping people to grow in their faith and work out their calling.

Book preview

A Few Words To Begin

Steve and Alex meet regularly at the Wild Goose Coffee House for coffee and conversation. This convivial and stimulating arrangement began when Steve asked Alex if he would consider being his conversation partner while he (Steve) steered a church discussion group focused on a highly contentious issue. Alex initially resisted the idea on the grounds of not being a believer, yet finally agreed as Steve was convinced that he was right person for the job.¹

Alex has a way of posing disarming questions and pushing for answers. In the conversation related here, Steve and Alex begin by talking about the Bible and whether it can be trusted, with Steve giving some fairly standard responses. Then Alex asks about the talking snake…

What follows is a fast-paced journey through the great drama of the Bible, with Steve having to dig deep in responding to Alex’s penetrating and unsettling questions about the God who seems to have a dark side.

Important to Note

The Wild-Goose Coffee House is fictional, as are all who Steve (the author) meets there.

A much abridged version of the following conversation can be found in ‘Sexuality, Faith & the Art of Conversation – Part One’ (SFAC1) by the same author, along with further exchanges between Alex and Steve. A sample chapter from SFAC1 is given later in this book for any who are interested in how (and why) Steve and Alex first became conversation partners.

The Talking Snake & the Warrior God

Wednesday, 10 March 2014 – the time is 11:00

The Wild Goose Coffee House is full and bustling. Alex and Steve have their coffees and are deep in conversation.

ALEX: So, how can you be so confident in an ancient book?

STEVE: That’s a big question.

ALEX: You guys are pinning so much on it – it seems important to ask.

STEVE: Fair enough… well, you could say that it has proved itself over the centuries – since the time when this collection of writings was brought together…

ALEX: (Interrupting) And when was that exactly?

STEVE: The Bible, as we have it, came together through the deliberations of a series of church councils. The collection of books we have was agreed by the end of the fourth century.¹

ALEX: How did they decide what to include and what to leave out?

STEVE: There were various criteria, including matters of authorship, the acceptance of writings in the church at large, consistency with the central doctrines of the church, evidence of high ethical values…

ALEX: (Interrupting) I imagine these were hot debates. How do you know they got it right? Decisions by committees can get quite political, with all kinds of vested interests at play.

STEVE: It was certainly not a flawless process, and you are right about the politics.² Yet, the results have stood the test of time. The agreed collection of books, along with the ancient creeds (statements of core Christian belief) undergird the great variety of Christian traditions that have developed, and provide the basis of unity between them. In the end, it is a matter of trust that the God who inspired these writings also guided the decisions about which books to include in the Bible.

ALEX: That’s a huge amount of trust in a book with a talking snake.

STEVE: I’m sorry?

ALEX: Doesn’t the Bible start off with a story about how the world was created in seven days, a naked couple in a paradise garden, and a talking snake?

STEVE: Yes, I suppose…

ALEX: (Interrupting) This is the book that you revere above all other knowledge, and it has a talking snake – not to mention a war god with a bad temper, who is not beyond giving the order to wipe out an entire people group!³

STEVE: Now you’re really getting down to it.

ALEX: Well I hope you don’t just want me to nod politely at everything you say.

STEVE: No, of course not. I was just a bit taken aback by the passion with which you said all that.

ALEX: I surprised myself a bit! What about an answer or two? You can be passionate too, if you like!

STEVE: I’ll see what I can do. I’ll need to take you right back to the beginning, with the story of creation…

ALEX: (Interrupting) Don’t forget the snake!

STEVE: I won’t. Let me start by saying that Christians have different ways of understanding the creation story. Some take it very literally, holding that God created everything