Religion in Science Education

A nightmarish snake lies in wait to attack the child’s hand as it reaches for an apple of knowledge.

Originally painted for a Centre for Inquiry poster advertising a lecture by PZ Myers of Pharyngula.

Shown on The Flying Trilobite here and here .

A number of atheists disagreed with the symbolism in the comments on PZ Myers blog, saying the snake was the good guy for leading humanity to knowledge. Interesting.

My intention was that the speaking snake is clearly an element of dangerous fiction some people believe to be literal.

What do you think?