SNAKES ON CAMPUS ?

              “Snakes on Campus!” I did a double take at the news account of snakes on the campus of Samford University. In the Bible the devil is portrayed as a serpent, a snake, in the Genesis account. Condemning the scribes and Pharisees, false teachers and hypocrites, Jesus calls them snakes and vipers. (Matthew 23:33) We call a shady, conniving or evil person a snake. A snake on campus conjures up the image of a false teacher, a professor who leads students astray.

                But the news article referred to real flesh and blood snakes, Copperheads, which have bitten two students this academic year. Now that is a serious problem. The administration assures us they are doing all they can to rid the campus of such creatures, but that the efforts are only partially effective because the campus is so wooded and ivy covered. In the meantime they warn students and others to be watchful and alert to such a danger.

                Of Samford I am confident there are fewer two legged snakes on its campus than on most state schools. Not that Samford is heaven on earth, or as Grady Nutt referred to Mississippi College as being “ten miles from the nearest known sin.” But as news sources report one in five coeds on state campuses being raped, mostly at drunken orgies, I once again thank God for Samford and similar Christian Universities. Being a graduate and familiar with the bible and theology professors, although I disagree with them on some points, I am confident there are no snakes teaching the Bible, and I have no knowledge of heresy being taught in any other disciplines.

                But even as we need to be watchful for snakes on campus we need even more to be aware of that other snake. “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.” (1Peter 5:8)

 (Note: My computer was out of service for several weeks. Glad to be back.)

Grace and peace.