In this version of the creation myth, the snake's advice to eat from the tree of knowledge is positive, the creator and his angels are demonic beasts whose names are named, and the true Godhead appears as an androgynous heavenly projection of Adam and Eve. Rasimus finds the story is a group of texts from the Nag Hammadi and related codices and from heresiological literature that certain early church leaders called Ophite--snake people. He argues that this Ophite evidence is essential for understanding Sethianism, practiced by a pre-Christian Jewish group who considered themselves virtuous offspring of the Biblical Seth. He looks at the mythology regarding the serpent, the creator and the archons, Adam and Christ, and the Pillars of Seth. Then he presents evidence for the group's ritual snake worship, cursing Jesus, and baptism. The study is revised his revised dissertation for a 2006-07 doctoral degree awarded jointly by the University of Helsinki in Finland and the Université Laval in Quebec. Annotation ©2009 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)