They shall take up serpents; ....., it shall not hurt them Mark 16:18

[Lokiate]

if you had a clue you would know they do not like being called 'snake handlers' they prefer 'serpent handlers'

but do go on

they do use rhythms etc but unlike the charmers they do pick the serpents up and pass them around.....at the altar....men go first then women if they are inclined...children are not allowed to handle serpents

They're extremists who put themselves and others in very grave danger of an excruciatingly painful death, just to prove their faith. It's not only incredibly stupid, and a violation of the teachings of the Bible (Deuteronomy 6:16), it's also a hazard to public safety, and animal cruelty. If some dumbass wants to play with a wild animal that's very pissed off, scared out of its mind, and has two organic syringes filled with a fatal dose venom attached to a lightning fast, spring loaded jaw, then by all means, let him earn his Darwin Award. Putting other people, including children, in that environment, however, is reckless. It doesn't matter if the kids don't touch the snakes, the reason why the children aren't allowed to is because a 7 year old girl was killed during a snake handling ritual in Georgia. It's a felony, but baron's video conveniently failed to mention that.

Rattlesnake venom is nothing to play around with. It causes living tissue to swell, rot, and die. A rattlers hemotoxin also prevents clotting so it's prey will bleed out quickly as the flesh and muscle swell so much that it causes the tissue to burst. Even if the victim survives, they will be permanently disabled.

Some species of rattlers in the Mojave desert produce a powerful neurotoxin that causes paralysis of the nervous system, and halts respiratory function. The worse thing about the Mojave Rattlesnake is that a victim the size of a human being would be fully conscious as the venom took its full effect, and the person would suffer immensely as they tried to tell make their unresponsive body take in air, to no effect. A healthy adult male could be in a state of pure hell for up to five minutes if they're a swimmer.

These cults are a hazard to themselves and others, it's animal cruelty, and the really stupid thing about this nonsense is that the entire premise of these cults originate from one out-of-context verse that was cherry-picked from 31,102 other verses. There are countless ways to prove and test ones faith, if one is so inclined, so there is no reason for this endangerment to even exist.

Listen, you have a few great points and yet you don't. It should NOT ever be completely removed from an individual to consider one's potential surroundings. Would YOU deny YOUR children the ability to handle that which is most dangerous within the land in which they dwell? I bet not. Back off... would be my suggestion... of anyone living peaceably among themselves even if it means at odds with you! *hearts* does not mean *he*arts* but *he*arts* comes to *hearts* regardless.

Regardless of my personal opinion on this particular manifestation of the Christian faith, I would never seek to violate their First Amendment right, but at the same time, this practice is not reasonable, due to the hazard it presents to others, and the fact that it's drawn from a single verse in the Bible. I don't have children, but if I did, I would not allow them to attend one of these services. There are far more practical ways of learning about Christianity, like reading the Bible, or going to a church, and speaking to a preacher/priest/minister/etc.

 

[Toro]

What could be happened to a political correct liberal after he pick up a serpent with his hand?Right, snake will bit him on his atheistic ass and unlucky liberal will die shortly thereafter. But True Christians suffer nothing because God protect them. The typical liberal explanation of this wonder is that Christians are "hateful", "crazy", "right-wing", "bigots", no one of lefts can explain this Great Wonder without insults or bashing of the True Christians.

What do you mind about; are the True Christians really "dumb" "morons"?

If you think God is going to protect you from snake venom, then yes, you are a dumb moron, no matter what your religion.

This means several crazy things... Like that you can define their God and that you know a bigger God. Sometimes it pays us BIG to pay attention to what others are saying when they aren't saying it. I fail at this. Do you?

The funniest thing is that these guys are living, walking proof of Darwin's Theory of Evolution.

 

[Iridescence]

There are obvious logical reasons for concern with handlers, but they represent many things that are not mentionable and are not possible for mainstream to understand.

Lokiate, I was more abrasive than I meant to be in my response toward your post. I only mean to convey more that men were meant to have dominion over the land within which they dwell and that means acquiring certain abilities best fitting to their environment. It enables and ensures the success of their future generations.

 

[Lokiate]

I didn't find your post abrasive at all. If these people are happy with this form of worship, then by all means. People have died, and have been severely injured from this, and, in my point of view, it seems a senseless waste.

 

[Iridescence]

but something does protect them.....they get bitten and live or dont get bitten at all

Venomous snakes have a very unfortunate design in that all they really have is their mouth and venom for prey, and predators. Snakes will usually not use a full shot of venom on an attacker, depending on how long it's been since their last meal. Their venom glands don't just make with the goods at will, and that's the most precious thing a snake has.

^^ This, exactly, and then sometimes the most precious thing that man can pass on to others are rites of worship, 'attonement', and such. My limited experiences have *just* taught me to have an immense respect for those who conduct such services and who are persistent in the works. There is a great deal of medicinal mirage within scripture and, once that has been seen and understood, the levels of appreciation and awe are also better comprehended.

I prefer to understand the diverse ways of worship as both the necessary savior and yet potential devil. It is, indeed, a process not to be taken lightly and cannot be appropriately understood by those who reject the depths.

 

[strollingbones]

o i so disagree....the snakes are not harmed in the handling nor are they killed afterwards.....they are kept in cages and used again and again....a good large snake is a thing of pride....

you do realize that most handlers belong to one of three prominent families in the faith?

why should they not adhere to this verse....is one verse of the bible more right than another?

you are right ....cps will step in the minute they get wind of a child handling.....

you do know that the poisons they drink have been tested and found to be true toxins?

as for the strength of the venom......they will reply...that is up to god and god's will

their faith is simple and strong....they find peace in their faith...their is something to be said for that....


if you are truly interested there are 3 main books on the subject

salvation on sand mountain by covington

the serpent handlers by brown

serpent handling belivers by kimbrough

salvation on sand mountian is light reading...covington goes as a total skeptic but in the end....takes up serpents......

the serpent handlers are about the 3 main families:

Husband-and-wife team Brown and McDonald here introduce readers to the Elkinses of West Virginia, the Browns of Tennessee and the Cootses of Kentucky. The book provides a fascinating foray into the life of these faithful snake-handling families. Especially absorbing are discussions of the miraculous healing of Gregory Coots's eye, which was damaged by gunshot when he was six years old; the poignant story of matriarch Barbara Robinson Elkins's 23-year-old daughter, Columbia, dying of a snakebite wound; and Joe Robert Elkins's testimony that he once died of a snakebite wound, ascended to the "most beautifuliest place I ever seen" and was brought back to life because God listened to the earnest pleadings of his fellow church members. Interspersed throughout Brown and McDonald's analysis are passages, drawn from interviews, in which the snake handlers speak for themselves; these sections, without question, are the richest in the book. The authors insist that their subjects are fiercely independent mountain people, but the frequent gestures in the direction of abusive coal-mining fathers and pious God-fearing mothers box the three families into familiar cliches. Readers with time for only one book on snake handling should stick to Dennis Covington's prize-winning Salvation on Sand Mountain; those less easily sated will enjoy this, but they may want to skip Brown and McDonald's commentary and go straight to the handlers themselves. (May)

[ame=http://www.amazon.com/Serpent-Handlers-Three-Families-Their/dp/0895871912]Amazon.com: The Serpent Handlers: Three Families and Their Faith (9780895871916): Fred W. Brown, Jeanne McDonald: Books[/ame]

 

[Iridescence]

There are several sites on reptiles and handling, too. Not much is comparable to personal experience, but the reading is good.

 

[strollingbones]

hard to do the personal experience.....you need to go to their church and all....

 

[Newby]

perhas cause i am an outsider to this all....handling serpents seems no more crazy to be than believing you are drinking the blood of christ or eating his body.....

You don't use symbolism or rituals in paganism, SB?

 

[strollingbones]

sure ....but why mock one sect over another ....why not mock it all....if you are to mock one part?

we are heavy into symbols....the holidays we do all have symbols....and the little wiccians cant do without their sage

 

[Newby]

sure ....but why mock one sect over another ....why not mock it all....if you are to mock one part?

we are heavy into symbols....the holidays we do all have symbols....and the little wiccians cant do without their sage

Well the wine and the bread are no different than things that you might use to symbolize something else as part of a ritual, no one believes they're actually drinking the blood or eating the body of Christ. It's a symbolism that Christ is to live within you, that you are His temple, a showing of respect and acceptance, that's all.

 

[strollingbones]

o i know that....at one time i flirted with becoming catholic but the one question i could not say yes too....was did i truly believe the wine was blood etc....i was like....no sorry....catholic church said the same....

the handling and all are not symbolic like that however...perhaps a bad comparison on my part...the snakes are real the toxins are real....their faith is real

 

[Cammmpbell]

Good point.

True christians are immune to snake venom.

My advice, go buy a Spitting Cobra, and put in right in your face Baron, then shake it around as violently as you can.

LOL!

That reminds me of a story about my Dad's youngest brother. He was a Holiness preacher and one cold night in Tennessee he was preaching and making a "come to me" gesture to the congregation as he backed away from them. He straddled an old fashioned coal stove as he backed into it and knocked it to the floor. The upper part of the insides of his groin and his buttocks was so seriously burned that he laid on his stomach for weeks and had to be spoon fed. Maybe that's what Hell's like.