Posted on 09/05/2009 5:41:10 AM PDT by JoeProBono
There was a lot of nervous laughter in the room. Some of it was mine. I was leading a church discussion on religious practices in Appalachia. The topic of the night was snake handling. The multitudes had not shown up; I think it was because of the subject.
Just the thought of snakes, much less the thought of handling them, gives most folks cold chills. A number of people in the room alluded to Wendy Bagwell’s old story of singing in a West Virginia church. Bagwell described how people had begun to take snakes out of baskets and boxes while his group sang.
Turning to the pastor, Bagwell nervously asked where the church’s back door was. When the pastor told him there was not a back door, Bagwell asked the pastor where he would like one! During the night’s discussion, one person admitted what most of us were thinking. We did not have enough faith to pick up snakes.
The honest saint said, “Maybe, I could become a snail handler instead of a snake handler.” However, I am not sure handling snakes is a matter of faith. I am sure it is not a matter of scripture.....
Hands Full of Trouble—Dewy Chafin a preacher in the Church of the Lord Jesus in Jolo, West Virginia holds two fistfuls of rattlesnakes during snake-handling church services in 1991. Dewey has been “bit” by poisonous snakes over 116 times, treating his wounds only with prayer.
I’ve got faith that of I don’t pick a snake up, it won’t bite me.
He looks possessed in that pic.
Thou shall not test the Lord your God.
Sounds like he’s had 116 fails.
Scripture tried to warn them. “Can you hold fire to your bosom and not be burned?”
God tells us repeatedly to not get into harms way. These folks would be lots better off if they would stick to trying to have the faith of a mustard seed and say to that mountain ‘cast yourself into the sea” instead of handling the snakes.
Either way, we should not put the Lord to a test........
Thanks for the post!
Ugh, my MIL has killed 18 rattlers in her yard this year. That isn’t a record but she’s 86 years old and lives alone. I hate walking around her yard but we try to keep it clear around everything so that they’re easy to see. I’ve never touched one, dead much less alive.
Hmmmmmm I'm not sure I want Caesar limiting what they perceive faith calls them to do? (Frankly I think they are nuts. I suggest we let Darwin farm them out.)
>>He looks possessed in that pic.
Snake handlers say that they are possessed by the Holy Spirit, which is how they handle the snakes and survive the bites.
Whatever works for them is fine with me. (But it would be fun to make a movie about snake handlers starring Samuel L Jackson!)
Good advice.
The local paper recently ran this article.
Five snake bites prompt warning in Beach
VIRGINIA BEACH
Sometimes the obvious bears repeating, even when the subject is poisonous reptiles.
Five people in the Beach this summer have suffered snake bites requiring a trip to the hospital, officials said. The locations vary - Blackwater, Sandbridge, the amphitheater, Kempsville and First Landing State Park - but the cause is almost always the same: snake fascination.
"People want to be like Steve Irwin and pick up the snake," said Bruce Nedelka, emergency medical services division chief, referring to the late TV personality called "The Crocodile Hunter."
On Tuesday, the city released its "Snake Bite Prevention Safety Tips."
Tip No. 1, "If you see a snake, walk away from it."
"You would think it would be obvious," Animal Control Officer Wayne Gilbert said, "but sometimes people see something that's a little strange, and they want to go up and touch it."
Gilbert said he's noticed two kinds of people when called to remove a snake from a kitchen or under a house. The first group completely avoids the slithery things.
"The others are so engrossed that they're with me the whole time," he said.
"They ask me if they can hold the snake tongs. They want to touch the snake to see what it feels like."
Aaron Applegate, (757) 222-5122, aaron.applegate@pilotonline.com
OMG! Tell me where your MIL lives so I will be careful never to go there.
Snakes in a church.
The astounding thing about the snake handling churches is the forebearance of the snakes. One would expect the average snake handler to be dead or seriously injured within a few weeks, but many last for years and are only infrequently bitten.
This just doesn’t make any sense.
I just hope the snakes were not hurt.
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