With respect to the Bible - it uses a LOT of symbolism and that is all it is doing with respect to Lucifer, aka Satan, aka Beelzebub, etc. and snakes. The irony of it all is that in the Garden of Eden, Adam had already determined in his heart that he was going to eat the forbidden fruit, knew who Satan was, allowed him into the garden, and allowed Eve to be deceived. The fall was ultimately Adam's fault because God gave him full authority over EVERYTHING in the Garden. Also, that bit of scripture from the Gospels, in this case the Book of Mark, the bit about snakes, again, is only for the purpose of proving the truth (establishing the religion), not doing it foolishly to try and prove something outside of the protection of God. This was literally fulfilled when Paul shook the viper from his hand in Acts 28:5-6 and it wasn't done to test God like the Pentecostal preachers we know about claim is scriptural (and recently died of a bite as a result) - it isn't.