Abstract
This paper investigates the epidemic of moral failure among pastors and leaders in both Christianity and Judaism, offering a deep-rooted spiritual diagnosis through the lens of the Torah, New Testament, and classical Holy Kabbalah. While many traditional analyses point to lack of accountability or spiritual warfare, this study reveals a more fundamental cause: the suppression, rather than circumcision, of the innate serpent nature within human souls. Drawing from Scripture, Jewish mystical texts, and apostolic Christian revelation, we show that unhealed serpentine impulses left hidden within the nefesh (animal soul) inevitably manifest in public disgrace. The only true solution is the internal circumcision of the heart and soul through the Messiah, who alone can sever the root of the serpent in man.
Introduction
Moral failures of religious leaders have long plagued both Christianity and Judaism. In every generation, anointed voices fall into adultery, financial corruption, addiction, or manipulation, often shocking the communities they serve. Yet this pattern is not new. The fall of Aaron’s sons (Leviticus 10:1–3), the sins of Eli’s house (1 Samuel 2:12–17), and even the great failings of King David show that no leader is immune. In Christianity, the moral collapse of influential pastors has become so common that it is now expected as part of a tragic cycle.
But what causes this? And why has it remained such a persistent disease despite centuries of theology, community structures, and moral training?
This paper proposes that the root cause of moral failure is not lack of discipline, not temptation alone, and not merely human weakness. The true reason is the uncut serpent nature in the soul, which, when merely suppressed by religious performance, remains alive underground, festering until it bursts forth in scandal. The Torah, Prophets, Gospels, and Kabbalistic writings consistently teach that the serpent in man must be revealed and circumcised, not hidden and repressed.
1. The Serpent Nature in Man: A Scriptural and Kabbalistic Foundation
From the beginning, Scripture identifies the serpent as the most cunning and subtle force opposed to God’s order (Genesis 3:1). While externalized in Eden, the serpent quickly becomes internalized in humanity through Adam’s fall. The Zohar (I:35a) and the Midrash Tanchuma comment that the nachash (serpent) entered into Eve and became intertwined with the flesh of mankind, corrupting the nefesh — the lowest soul level.
Paul confirms this in Romans 7:23 when he writes, “I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind.” This law of sin in the flesh is the serpentic distortion of God’s design.
Kabbalistic tradition names this inner serpent the Sitra Achra — the “Other Side,” identified with the klippot (husks) and particularly the shell called Nogah, which masks itself as light. When religious leaders feed the animal soul under the guise of holiness without crucifying or circumcising it, they empower the serpent within.
2. Suppression vs. Circumcision: The Failure of Moral Management
Modern religious leadership training in both Judaism and Christianity often emphasizes behavioral modification, accountability groups, or external purity laws, which while useful, do not deal with the root.
The Torah commands not only circumcision of the flesh (Genesis 17:10), but also the circumcision of the heart (Deuteronomy 10:16). This is the spiritual operation required to deal with the serpent at its root. Jeremiah echoes this: “Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, and remove the foreskin of your heart” (Jer. 4:4). Paul affirms it: “He is a Jew who is one inwardly… circumcision is of the heart, by the Spirit” (Romans 2:29).
Kabbalistically, this is the process of cutting away the klippot—removing the false coverings over the holy sparks. Leaders who suppress the serpent rather than expose and expel it remain walking contradictions—external priests, inward beasts.
3. The Shedding of the Serpent: Messianic Solution in Christ
In the New Covenant, the true circumcision is the cutting off of the old man—what Paul calls the body of sin (Romans 6:6). Yeshua HaMashiach did not come to suppress sin but to destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3:8). His crucifixion is the cosmic circumcision of the serpent, fulfilling the mystical promise of Genesis 3:15: “He shall crush your head.”
The Sefer HaBahir (Section 199) hints at this mystery when it says that “God placed the righteous over the serpent to tread upon it with their heel.” Jesus fulfilled this as the righteous Tzaddiq who overcame the primordial serpent by offering up His perfect soul as the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world (Revelation 13:8).
Those who follow Him must also be circumcised in soul, not just washed in outer appearance.
4. Historical Patterns of Hidden Serpents Among Leaders
History reveals the tragic result of serpent suppression. From the corrupt priesthoods before the destruction of the Second Temple, to Christian televangelists caught in scandal, to Rabbis hiding sexual abuse, the pattern is the same:
Uncircumcised nefesh + religious responsibility = public disgrace.
Many leaders feel the pressure to appear righteous, anointed, and holy, yet carry unresolved lust, pride, greed, or envy in their inner worlds. These serpents, when not pierced and slain by the sword of the Spirit, eventually devour their host.
5. Practical Application: Exposing and Circumcising the Inner Serpent
True leadership reform begins with a radical embrace of internal purification. Practical steps include:
- Daily introspection (cheshbon hanefesh): practiced by the Baal Shem Tov and early Hasidim to reveal hidden impulses.
- Open confession before trusted holy elders, not just peer-level “accountability.”
- Immersion in the fire of the Word — both Torah and Gospel, to pierce and divide soul and spirit (Hebrews 4:12).
- Active rejection of false light (Nogah) — the pretense of holiness without inward truth.
- Receiving the circumcision of the Messiah — not as a one-time event, but a continual ladder of ascent (Jacob’s Ladder), cutting away serpent scales from glory to glory.
Conclusion
Moral failure among pastors and rabbis is not a mystery—it is the logical result of leaving the serpent alive in the soul. Until the Church and synagogue embrace the full internal circumcision commanded by God and fulfilled in Christ, the cycle of scandal will continue.
The only true solution is not better hiding, but greater exposing—not in front of men, but before the throne of God. Leaders must be transformed from serpent-tamers into serpent-slayers by the sword of the Spirit and the fire of His glory.
Only then will we see holy leadership without scandal, and shepherds worthy of the flock of God.
By Apostle Brandon Barthrop
RLM TV
References (Harvard Style)
- The Holy Bible, Amplified Classic Edition. (1987). Zondervan.
- Paul, Apostle of Christ. Epistle to the Romans. c.57 A.D.
- Zohar, HaSulam Edition.
- Sefer HaBahir.
- Sefer Yetzirah, Kaplan Translation.
- Midrash Tanchuma, Parashat Tazria.
- The Complete Artscroll Siddur (1984). Mesorah Publications.
- Luzzatto, M.C. (1740). Derech Hashem (The Way of God).
- Talmud Bavli, Tractate Niddah 13b.
- Barthrop, B. (2025). The Serpent Line and the Garden Line: Living Above the Curse. RLM TV LLC.
